Written and directed by BT Meza, Ellie confronts a disturbing condition resetting her memory, unable to recognize her husband and daughter. Each reset disorients her, leaving haunting recollections of an unfamiliar life. Starring: Jessica Rothe, Joseph Cross and Julianna Layne.
Jessica Rothe enamoured the world of horror with her exploits in Happy Death Day and after that, of course fans are going to jump at any opportunity to see her step into the genre again and she does not disappoint with Affection. Although, she may be back in the same realm of violence, thrill and suspense, this is a wildly different role. BT Meza asked for an almost excessive amount of physicality from Rothe, requiring her to simulate seizures for extended sequences, repeatedly throughout the film. Ultimately, he employs it too much and it undercuts the rest of her performance, which is a shame, but the effort and intensity, not to mention the commitment from Rothe is absolutely there.
Of course, Affection also brings another very familiar face to the table with Joseph Cross who has often proved his skills as the loyal, sweet type but every now and again gets to move over to the dark side. He demonstrates his ability with villainous exploits straight away here as the creepy factor shoots up practically the second he appears onscreen. Cross helps to quickly fill the atmosphere with that classic horror-thriller-sci-fi edge of ‘all is not right here’. Something that’s well supported by Meza’s directorial style, you can feel that sci-fi influence immediately, and there’s a hugely ominous note that only builds as time goes on.
Visually it works well, the cinematography from Jason Hafer is great work, it’s sharp enough but also keeps things humble so it doesn’t feel like they’re trying too hard to add some danger. The effects work is also well done, it’s relatively minimal and makes a good impact. It’s really the story that lets Affection down. The level of detail is disappointing, there are many unanswered questions, and while the element of grief is a solid choice, it’s also quite familiar at this point. It needed to expand further and speed things up a bit to do itself justice, it doesn’t quite have enough going on to make for satisfying viewing, though there is an entertaining foundation.
Affection is a good first effort from BT Meza, there’s a lot of enjoyable ingredients going into his debut feature. It’s shot well, the casting is right on the money, Jessica Rothe, Joseph Cross and Julianna Layne are a wonderful trio, Layne nicely adds plenty of vulnerability and fear to play against Rothe and Cross’ battle of wills and skills. The atmosphere is exceptionally suspicious which is fun, and it’s a decent concept but the story is just too simple. They’re asking the audience to fill in too many blanks, and the pacing isn’t quite there.
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