Last month, the Brooklyn Horror Festival celebrated a decade of bringing eclectic genre films to its audience, spotlighting films that blend the boundaries of horror and other genres. One film that explores what is scary is writer-director BT Meza’s debut film, Affection. Starring Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day), the sci-fi horror film is big on narrative but has hints of Black Mirror and Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor. The film jumped straight from ScreamFest to Brooklyn Horror Festival, and it’s clear to see why.
Gasping awake, a woman has no idea where she is or who the man beside her in bed is. Bruce (Joseph Cross) tells her that her name is Ellie Carter, his wife, and he has pictures to prove it. And little Alice (Julianna Layne) just wants her mommy to remember her life with them in their isolated house surrounded by cornfields. With violent seizures that reset her memory without warning, and feeling increasingly trapped with her unfamiliar family, she struggles to uncover the horrifying truth of her existence—before she forgets it all over again.
Three characters means the cast has to carry the film; it makes you highly aware of their acting, but luckily, it is solid. Julianna Layne is a tiny Powerhouse: I wonder what is in store for her career. Rothe has a chance to shine as a portrait of trauma and survival, through multiple identities. It really shows her range and talent. Glad to see her back on the horror train. Cross (Big Little Lies) is more than formidable as the sinister and immediately suspicious ‘husband’; he’s, well, he’s absolutely menacing! Whether speaking in a calm, gaslighting voice or showing outright anger.
If you’re at all a regular sci-fi viewer, it will be easy to guess the “plot twist.” Still, the film gives it up in the first third and then slowly dishes out more sci-fi devices. Affection is definitely a horror movie as well; while not particularly blood-soaked, it doesn’t shy away from violence, and we get some gruesome and highly original practical effects and creature designs too.
Affection has a clever way of using science fiction to explore its darker themes involving the cyclical violence of domestic abuse. Affection reminds us of the chilling statistics of spousal and familial violence; it is terrifying on a whole other level due to this. This indie film makes us sick to our stomachs, disturbed, sad, and infuriated. A good film is able to scare us with the horrors of real life.
Affection screened at BHF on the 18th, but call it ironic or coincidental, I could not post this review at that time due to seizures of my own. Since I have epilepsy, I’m hyper aware of how films portray seizures (sorry, I just can’t help it ), and I think Affection is quite accurate in its portrayal of post-seizure reality; weaving it into a bigger story (one that happens to be in my favourite genre). After a seizure, you can forget who and where you are. It’s not too far from the truth that if our protagonist has multiple seizures and someone tells her what her name is and where she belongs, then yes, why not believe them? Affection makes us say, “wait, identity? You can’t give and take away identity…or can you? How much trauma does it take? What is identity anyway?”
“This sci-fi horror film is big on narrative but has hints of Black Mirror and Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor….This indie film makes us sick to our stomachs, disturbed, sad, and infuriated. A good film is able to scare us with the horrors of real life.“
