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.

For in-depth thoughts on Affection, please see my colleague Roberto Ortiz’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

Affection makes its Blu-Ray debut with a pleasing 1080p video presentation that showcases the world and the rich cinematography well. The presentation showcases a respectable amount of depth while traversing the woods around the house. The natural environments provide clear and impactful textural details. The image has a somewhat muted quality to its color palette, yet certain pieces of production design saturate the screen with a vengeance. The film deploys some lush colors in the expanses of nature, which conjures an unforgettable image. Black levels exhibit subtle signs of banding in some of the shadowy spaces, but primarily they maintain their depth. The flesh tones are natural with a palpable amount of detail present in close-ups, especially in the makeup. This Blu-Ray does everything that is asked of it with the utmost care.

Audio Quality

Brainstorm Media gives this Blu-Ray a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that carefully translates all of the sonic details. Dialogue renders clearly without being overpowered by any competing sounds. The nimble and effective sound design permeates the room with careful finessing of the surround speakers. Environmental sounds from the natural world perk up the surround speakers in a very effective manner. When the characters are moving through the forest or the house, distinct ambient details flesh out the setting. Kinetic moments are not a prominent part of this track, but certain developments, such as the opening nightmare for Ellie, deliver some nice texture to the proceedings. The score is favorably balanced while maintaining its fidelity. The audio track provides a first-rate experience full of peculiarities that bring this narrative to life exactly as intended. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Writer/director BT Meza, stars Jessica Rothe and Joseph Cross, and producers Austin Walk and Bay Dariz provide a commentary track. The participants discuss the movie and production in depth including the collaborative nature of the set, the camera movements, the shooting locations, scenes that didn’t make the cut, and more.

Making Affection: A 13-minute piece in which the cast and creative team discuss the process of bringing the movie to life, the underlying themes, the direction of BT Meza, and more

Deleted Scenes: A four-minute collection of extended or unused moments is provided.

Score Only Track

Original Trailer (1:44)

Booklet: A multi-page booklet is provided with an essay from film critic Kat Hughes, along with some concept art and production notes.

Final Thoughts

Affection starts off with an unsettling bang before introducing you to a mysterious scenario where distrust runs rampant. The biggest issue on this front is that the film often sacrifices suspense in favor of blatant telegraphing of story beats that shouldn’t be known for quite some time. Jessica Rothe has become one of our favorites in the genre-film space, and she puts her all into this performance from the first writhing frame. This alone is unfortunately not enough to keep you invested in the journey, as the film struggles with pacing and finding substance below the surface. We give the film props for its practical effects, but we wish the same level of care had been applied to the story. Brainstorm Media has released a Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation and a valuable assortment of special features.

Affection is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Brainstorm Media and OCN Distribution have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.