My quick rating – 6.7/10. I had to rewatch Afflicted since it is one of those rare found-footage horror flicks that actually nails the formula instead of collapsing under it. A simple but effective setup sees Derek Lee and Clif Prowse, playing fictionalized versions of themselves, as lifelong friends about to embark on a year-long trip around the world. Derek has a serious medical condition hanging over his head, so Clif decides to document every moment, turning the entire journey into a first-person travelogue. That also means we’re locked into the “camera as character” viewpoint for the whole movie, a style I’m very much opposed to unless it’s done right.
After a fun start in Barcelona and a detour to Paris with some musician friends, things take a dark turn. Derek has a one-night encounter with a woman named Audrey (Baya Rehaz), and his friends find him the next morning, bloodied, bitten, and refusing to seek medical help. Once they hit Italy, it’s clear something is seriously wrong. Derek can’t keep food down, sunlight burns him, and his strength skyrockets to superhuman levels. It doesn’t take long for the guys, or anyone paying attention, to figure out that Derek didn’t just get unlucky; he’s turning into a vampire.
What makes Afflicted stand out is how surprisingly believable it all feels. The special effects and stunts are shockingly well executed for a low-budget indie horror movie. The transformation scenes, wall crawling, and violent outbursts have a visceral weight to them that most found-footage films never achieve. Directors Prowse and Lee lean hard into the chaos once the infection starts taking over, delivering chase scenes and confrontations that put most big-budget shaky-cam movies to shame.
The acting is another win. For a genre notorious for stiff or awkward performances, these two come off natural, likable, and genuinely worried about what’s happening. The friendship feels real, and that helps sell the emotional side of Derek losing control. Knowing that Lee and Prowse not only starred in but also wrote and directed the film makes it even more impressive. This is clearly a passion project built to push the limits of what found footage can do.
While it relies on some familiar vampire tropes, the execution elevates it. The movie commits to its concept, keeps the pacing tight, and doesn’t rely on cheap gimmicks. It’s one of the very few found-footage horror flicks I can strongly recommend, sitting comfortably next to Chronicle in terms of ambition and payoff. If you enjoy the genre or just want a genuinely creative spin on a vampire story, Afflicted is absolutely worth your time.
