Afflicted

• Horror
• Thriller

A claustrophobic and increasingly desperate chronicle of a European backpacking trip, *Afflicted* seamlessly blends the exuberance of travel with the chilling unraveling of a close friendship. Presented as found footage, the film charts not a monster hunt, but a harrowing descent into a biological nightmare experienced through the eyes of those living it. What begins as playful documentation of youthful adventure swiftly transforms into a raw, intimate portrait of one man’s agonizing physical and psychological deterioration, building a uniquely disturbing atmosphere less through jump scares and more through the characters' evolving fear and brutal honesty. The unsettling realism and escalating tension aren’t focused on the *what* of the affliction, but on the eroding trust and heartbreaking helplessness as a once-inseparable bond fractures under the weight of escalating horror and the desperate search for answers.