THE AFFLICTED (2010)

Streaming on Tubi!
Directed by Jason Stoddard
Written by Jason Stoddard
Starring Leslie Easterbrook, Kane Hodder, J.D. Hart, Michele Grey, Katie Holland, Daniel Jones, Cody Allen

Man, this is a tough film. I have to give props to Leslie Easterbrook, who up till now hasn’t really shown this type of range in her appearances in Rob Zombie’s films and of course, the POLICE ACADEMY films. In THE AFFLICTED, Easterbrook plays abusive mother Maggie, who flips her shit when her husband Hank (played surprisingly well by former Jason Voorhees, Kane Hodder) threatens to leave her. After she offs him in the first five minutes, she continues on a downward spiral abusing her three daughters and recruiting her son to do her heavy lifting. THE AFFLICTED, like many other films involving torture and abuse, is a hard pill to swallow, but that doesn’t make it less of an effective picture of an abusive parent.

Not since MOMMY DEAREST have we had such a maternal loon on our hands. Here, Maggie is a whiskey swilling, evangelical TV watching tormentor to her family. After shooting one of the girls for talking back to her and trying to get the counselor at school to help her, she handcuffs her to the bathtub. Soon, Maggie finds the bills stacking up, so she begins prostituting her girls to anyone with extra cash. Mother of the year, this woman is not.

Jason Stoddard’s camera is unblinking as the abuse plays out and I have to admit to squirming quite a bit at the way Maggie’s daughters are tormented one by one. Retribution, of course, is delivered in the end, but with the tagline at the beginning stating that this is a true story, the echoes of the abuse reverberate long after the credits.

Still, Easterbrook offers up a brave performance of an ugly yet believable abusive parent. I hated her by the end of this film, which means she did her job well. THE AFFLICTED is not for everyone, but stands out for its bold performances and its ability to burrow into the viewer’s brainpan.

Check out the trailer here!!