MovieChat Forums > Afflicted (2015) Discussion > Clif Prowse and Derek Lee shouldn't have...

Clif Prowse and Derek Lee shouldn't have cast themsleves in the leads.

posted 10 years ago by rs-13-603902
20 replies | jump to latest

Clif Prowse and Derek Lee shouldn't have gone the route of M Night Shyamalan and cast themselves as the lead actors because they don't have a strong enough screen presence and basically ruined their own film by not casting more professional actors. Every time I watched the trailer I couldn't help but wonder who the hell decided to cast those goofy looking guys as the lead actors, taking away the essence of a good film by removing the stronger screen presence of someone who can actually act and has a better look. When I discovered that they wrote and directed the film it obviously made more sense but still annoyed me because the premise and effects of the film actually look quite compelling and well-done, it just gets ruined by these two filmmakers taking the opportunity to make it a vanity project by engrossing the entire film with themselves. Very few film directors who star in their own films are capable of pulling it off (Mel Gibson, Ben Affleck, Clint Eastwood) and those are usually actor-turned-directors, not the other way around. I've never seen it work the other way around. It just makes me think of M Night Shyamalan when he chose to write, direct, produce and act in his own films, portraying himself as a renaissance man when in reality he should have stuck to his strong points and left the other jobs to people more suited for the task (although I happen to think Shyamalan is a horrible director and even worse writer)

Does anyone agree?

[–] mel2000 10 years ago

Shyamalan didn't give himself lead roles in his films AFAIK. I haven't seen most of his films but of those I've seen, his role is mostly a cameo.

[–] rs-13-603902 10 years ago

I know, he only gave himself cameo roles, I was just referring to how I felt like they seemed out of place and contrived. Many great directors give themselves bit roles, like Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese and Bryan Singer, but they only last for a few seconds and are hardly noticeable.

[–] PPPuro 10 years ago

I thought the opposite. How refreshing. We have two movie characters that are, and look like, regular people. They were quite believable as kinda naive Canadians to me.

[–] palooka-4 10 years ago

Agreed. Their performances were, at best, mediocre. Definitely dragged the movie down.

[–] wanganegresse-17-66043 10 years ago

I disagree. I found them both very natural, their friendship seemed authentic on screen, and it was refreshing to see a non-white male lead in this role, with his family and large circle of friends. A lower budget American Werewolf in London, lol

[–] Rupe-5 8 years ago

I LOVED that Clif and Derek starred in the film. I am one of the folks who enjoyed the fact that they seemed like everyday Joes. I would love to be one pof the people who promotes this film as a true cult classic!!!!!

[–] masewindu2 9 years ago

dereks acting was tolerable. the other guy was whiny and annoying. didnt like his performance at all. would have rather more seasoned pros in the leads

[–] SweetD19 9 years ago

I think it made it seem more genuine. They acted like they were real ppl in that situation. I loved the film just the way it was.

[–] ericmaier 9 years ago

Disagree. I like what they did here, definitely gave the found footage aspect a more realistic view imo. I get your points though, makes sense but I liked what they did in casting themselves.

[–] jamasian_man 9 years ago

Its a lot cheaper to do the acting themselves. They did it on a very modest budget of $318,000 and also had to film in four countries.

Hiring two additional actors when themselves could have sufficed would be a lot more expensive. That means two more plane tickets for each country, and there could be scheduling conflicts.

I'm not saying all director should just cast themselves, but when filming on a budget sometimes you have to make sacrifices. I felt the movie did not suffer by them casting themselves, they did a fine job.

[–] selfademus 9 years ago

The poor acting is why i've already taken to the message boards after 18 minutes.

[–] BumpingUglys 9 years ago

I really liked them. I thought their kinks and quirkiness made them much more believable and genuine. Good film.