Monday night's screening of Afflicted caught a lot of us by surprise with its fresh take on found footage horror and two completely riveting leads that held nothing back. Over at Hitfix, well-known critic Drew McWeeny (who, incidentally, appears in TIFF selection Jodorowsky's Dune) proclaimed the Canadian production one of the best in the entire Festival. High praise!
Derek Lee and Clif Prowse managed to wring new life out of one of the most over-used horror concepts, and it's entirely because of how smart and slick their debut feature is. They co-star as themselves in the film that takes place during a year-long trip around the world, and when they run into a supernatural horror, they find themselves trapped in a nightmare that feels all the more real thanks to the clever way they've shot the film and the exceptional stunt and effects work. This is a canny debut from guys who seem ready for Hollywood to discover them, and I have a feeling we'll be hearing more about them and "Afflicted" in the future.Let's hope that Drew's right and we see some new work from these talented new voices in horror very soon. Might I suggest an all-isopod remake of Rosemary's Baby?
