Plot: Afflicted by a mysterious condition that resets her memory, Ellie becomes trapped in a cyclical nightmare with a man who claims to be her husband. She soon must uncover the horrifying truth of her existence—before she forgets it all again.
Review: After her breakout role in Christopher Landon’s two Happy Death Day films, Jessica Rothe seemed on the verge of becoming a scream queen. After a few romantic comedies, a supporting role in Boy Kills World, and a role on Netflix’s medical drama Pulse, Rothe has not returned to the genre that shot her to stardom. Her latest film, Affection, blends horror and sci-fi, and its trailer gives off definite Happy Death Day vibes. While it does boast a complex plot and some scary moments, Affection stands alone from the time-loop slashers she appeared in, with just as surprising a twist. An impressive debut for writer/director BT Meza, Affection is an unusual blend of science fiction and horror with a solid lead performance from Jessica Rothe.
Affection opens with Ellie (Jessica Rothe) wandering down a rural road in the middle of the night when a truck arrives and runs her down. She suddenly awakens unharmed in bed, where Bruce (Joseph Cross) claims to be her husband. Not believing him and stuck with memories of another life, Ellie tries to escape before Bruce tells her that her memory loss is the result of a medical condition. Ellie slowly calms, especially in the presence of her supposed daughter, Alice (Julianna Layne). As she tries to come to terms with the family she cannot remember, Ellie begins to see and hear things around the house and on the surrounding property that give her a sense that something is not right. As things grow stranger, her fears give way to a revelation that alters the film’s course. As it becomes apparent that this is not the first time she has lost her memory, the unsettling truth of what is causing her mental anguish turns into a waking nightmare.
At just ninety minutes, Affection does not waste time before revealing the truth of what is affecting Ellie. Jessica Rothe does a great job of playing a woman struggling to reconcile her identity with her surroundings, which builds a sense of dread throughout the first act of the movie. At first, I was still wondering whether Affection was a take on the Happy Death Day time loop in disguise, before I began to suspect it was a psychological thriller hiding under the trappings of a sci-fi horror movie. It turned out to be neither, as the reveal of what is really going on was completely unexpected. Maybe I am naive for investing too much in the possibility that this movie would be something other than what it is, but I was caught off guard by the truth hidden beneath the red herrings. I won’t reveal the twist, but it owes quite a bit to David Cronenberg, as it evokes elements of body horror.
There are some solid moments in Affection that impress me with the quality of the make-up effects and the design of some of the more gnarly gore, while other elements like the computer read-outs and technobabble feel a bit generic or underwhelming. The film’s best elements are the performances of the three actors. With no one else in the cast, the heaviest lifting falls to Jessica Rothe and Joseph Cross. Rothe plays Ellie as a sympathetic victim rather than the more overt personality she portrayed in other projects. Cross does an excellent job of balancing the personality of a caring husband with the more sinister motivations beneath the surface. The chemistry between Rothe and Cross makes their relationship believable and drives the twist to be more impactful once you learn the truth. Julianna Layne also does a good job with her limited screentime opposite the adult performers.
As a debut film from writer/director BT Meza, Affection is more accomplished than I expected. The ambitious nature of the film’s plot is hampered only by the slow pace of the story and the copious misdirects in the first thirty minutes. I appreciate that Meza did not want to reveal his endgame too soon, but once we learn what is actually happening to Ellie, it makes some of the early scares and visual tricks feel disingenuous. That does not take away from the scares working in the moment, but, reflecting on them after the fact, they feel far less relevant to the story and more like a way to pad out the mid-film pivot. BT Meza shows an aptitude for delivering a complex story that bridges science fiction and horror, but the lack of explanation for how and why things are happening makes the story feel confusing, not intentionally ambiguous.
A lot of people may feel underwhelmed by the twist in Affection, since the opening act feels like it is leading to a different movie than the one you end up watching, but I did enjoy the plot’s progression. Jessica Rothe does not do anything to add to her scream queen status in this film, but she does, once again, prove herself adept at leading a genre project. Rothe gets to wear some pretty impressive prosthetics for her role, while Joseph Cross plays against type. BT Meza may not have stuck the landing as I had hoped, but he proves himself to be an impressive up-and-coming talent with the potential to build on what he has created in Affection. Far from a bad movie, Affection is just not consistent from beginning to end and instead offers glimpses of creativity and potential for what could come in subsequent films from this new writer/director.
Affection opens in theaters on May 8th.