We picked this movie to watch last night expecting to laugh at the usual hand held cam nonsense but wow what a surprise. Excellent acting and a truly ingenious script and premise for a movie, it was very good. You guy in to the characters from the start with one being afflicted by a life threatening illness and the other going with his friend around the world to ensure he is safe. Well their trip to Paris blows that out of the window as Derek goes off with the French girl Audrey. They let him have the hotel room to his self and try to prank him the next morning by rushing in to the room. They find a dazed, battered, bruised and bloodied Derek who has no recollection of the previous night. Derek and Cliff move on to Italy and that's when it starts going crazy. Funny, scary, unsettling and ultimately compelling it was a cool movie.

The found footage film experiment is a success when it is enacted with precision and the proper intensity and editing necessary to make the viewer suspend disbelief. I can remember when I saw the Blair Witch Project at the theater for the first time. I was genuinely terrified. Blair was a one-time wonder that really hit the mark perfectly, hammering our deepest, darkest fears of the unknown until we could barely breathe. In a way, this was akin to Alien, with the fear of the unknown and the uncertain magnified to the highest degree. Unfortunately, many drones and copiers followed, pretty much destroying the magic of the found footage genre. Cloverfield, REC and VHS pushed the genre to new limits, with great success, but other than that there wasn't much exciting in the way of found footage (though I must admit "The Last exorcism" was a guilty pleasure). One of the newest attempts, "The Afflicted" shows us all that the "found footage" genre isn't dead. While creating a heartfelt beginning backdrop, this film slowly feeds into the terror of contagion, disease and degradation in a fresh and newly charged way unique from its predecessors. I'm not saying it's a deal changer by any means, but it is a valiant attempt, and for that reason it deserves our respect and attention. So enjoy "The Afflicted" with all the amorous and diabolical intention it so readily justifies.

When I first spotted this movie I figured it would be right up my alley. Although i'm picky about horror movies I do enjoy them, and unlike many it seems, I find the "found footage" style of movie-making intriguing. Overall, Afflicted delivers an entertaining experience throughout, but in my opinion has a few specific fall backs.

First of all, while the acting was mostly good throughout, there were certain scenes where I felt things were a bit cheesy. That isn't my favorite descriptive word, but it happened to be the first that came to mind when thinking about it so I think it fits. Considering the filming style and what i'm assuming was a low budget, they do deserve credit for making a believable pseudo-documentary about their journey, but not everything had me swayed into thinking "yeah, this definitely feels unscripted and completely natural". Considering that this is the basic premise of "found footage" style films, to make the viewer feel like they are watching a real person instead of an actor, "Afflicted" falls short in a few areas which detract from the overall viewing experience in my humble opinion.

My second issue centers around the progression of the film. "Afflicted" starts off really strong, pacing the story along perfectly as you watch the characters depart on their journey and document the various places they visit. Things continue well until one of the main characters comes down with the "affliction" aforementioned in the movie title. From there, things tend to be less harmonious. Soon the story quickens, and you are left with parts that don't always seem to connect well. Certain scenes could have been omitted completely in my opinion.

Despite a few missteps, I have to say I quite enjoyed this movie. It's not perfect, but hey, few horror films usually are these days. I give the creators a ton of kudos for making a found footage film that actually doesn't suck, as there have unfortunately been many over the years(and a few good ones as well I might add). I would recommend this film to fans of the horror/mystery genre, or for anyone wanting to watch an entertaining, albeit different, type of movie.

It kept me interested from start to finish, and I give it a solid 6/10.