DVD Corner

Infliction DVD Review

“Infliction” is a poorly executed found footage film.

Armed with recording cameras and various weapons, “Infliction” finds brothers John and Kenneth Stiles documenting their entire road trip to North Carolina. While their full plan becomes clear over the course of the film, it’s clear that these troubled brothers are out for bloody revenge, but for what reason?

It’s no secret that the found footage genre has become a moneymaker for studios and filmmakers. As a result, the genre has become exhausted by a seemingly endless amount of films aiming to be the next “Paranormal Activity” and “The Blair Witch Project.” With “Infliction,” writer/director Jack Thomas Smith sets out to take the genre in a fairly new direction with this revenge/dysfunctional family/serial killer story. The only problem? The movie isn’t the least bit convincing.

For the duration of the film’s overlong runtime, it always feels like you are watching a movie because of how awkward and amateur the entire production is. From Kenny Eliott Armstrong’s atrocious monotone acting to the preachy conversations about karma, good and bad, and being victimized, the potentially disturbing concept is always hampered by a lack of believability. The clumsy found footage angle, the wretched dialogue, the forced exposition, and the lack of scares and realism only make the project even more of a chore than it already is.

Thankfully, not everything is a wasted opportunity here. In addition to the film’s impressive location shooting (which really gives you a sense of atmosphere and place), Jack Thomas Smith deserves credit for the story’s structure. It was refreshing not to know everything at once as Smith let the story unfold over time letting the pieces (and character motivations) come to light slowly, but surely.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: Widescreen. How does it look? For a low budget indie film, the handheld camera work is surprisingly sharp.

Audio Track: Unspecified. How does it sound? The audio is so-so.

The only extra is a music video by Purple Pam and the Flesh Eaters for the song “How Does It Feel?”

July 12, 2014 - Posted by nicklyons1 | DVD review | Infliction DVD Review