In Affection, 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.
Directed by BT Meza, the movie stars Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day), Joseph Cross (Mindhunter), and Julianna Layne (Audrey's Children), and it currently sits at 89% on Rotten Tomatoes after opening in select theaters this weekend.
Earlier this week, we sat down with Beza to discuss his feature debut and how he crafted a story that's deeply personal to him.
The filmmaker also reflects on casting Affection's leads, details his approach to exploring sci-fi and horror, and explains how he built tension in the dynamic between Bruce (Cross) and his family, culminating in an ending that will leave your jaw on the floor.
You can check out our full interview with Meza on writing and directing Affection in the player below.
To begin with, Jessica Rothe is obviously a Scream Queen. What did it mean to you to bring her on board to tell this story?
Oh, it was everything. I was really fortunate that I had a great casting director, Lindsay Weismuer, and she was such a champion of the script. I had been a fan of Jess's for a really long time, and she was able to get the script to Jess. We had a handful of conversations about the script and the character, and she brought so much to this character that it was truly... I can't imagine it without her.
She's got some really intense scenes, particularly early on, where we see her character having those seizures, which I imagine is so demanding for any actor. So, how did you really guide her through those really intense moments?
Yeah, we spent some time kind of talking through, 'How do the seizures start? How does it affect her?' And it really was a balance of figuring out the right kind of... It's very difficult to do that. And she was such a trooper because she really got put through hell on this film. So that was certainly a challenging aspect of it.
I'm not going to go into any spoilers as much as I'd like to talk about them, but the sci-fi elements work so well, and the way the story unfolds from there. How challenging was it to build to that moment and to almost flip things around in the second half of the film, with where the story goes?
For me, I really wanted to explore at that turning point — without giving too much away — what these characters go through. Especially both Ellie's character and Bruce's character early on, so that we had some time to live with them in this situation and to see why he's doing what he's doing and how she's struggling to come to terms with what she learns. And really giving a chance for those versions of the characters to live a little on the screen.
As a filmmaker, the makeup effects you get to play with a little later in the film must have been a blast to get hands-on with and to develop those designs as well.
Absolutely. Dan Rebert, who did our practical effects on this film, is such a talented genius when it comes to these types of effects. He really did something incredible with the effects that he brought. So blessed to work with him on our small little film. He really came and did something special.
Reading through the press notes, I was quite surprised by how personal this film is and how much it obviously means to you to tell this story. Was it quite daunting, with this being your debut feature, to delve into a story that is so connected to your own past and so personal for you?
I think I feel both comfortable working in what's familiar to me. A lot of the stuff from my childhood and experiences from my life are things that, for me, are comfortable to explore those things. So it felt good to explore those things in this story. And I will say this: I feel like everything that I wanted to see happen here with this film... I'm so blessed that it all came together.
Telling a story about grief with a tinge of sci-fi and horror... was that something you knew you wanted to do from the start, to go down that route with where it takes us?
Yeah, I'm such a huge fan of both sci-fi and horror. And I love blending the two. Some of my favorite films — The Fly, Alien, The Thing — are a blend of both of those things.
There is such a gut-punch of an ending, which I think people are going to be blown away by when they see it. But to build that tension, was that a challenging thing? Particularly in the second half of the film, where we really see things intensify.
We definitely wanted to keep an eye on the tone and the atmosphere throughout the process and make sure that, as cool as some of the elements were, we were staying true to the tone of the film and where we were headed.
And Joseph Cross, I think he's fantastic as well in this film. To come in and play this very complex character — not a villain, quite a tragic figure in a lot of ways. What made him the right choice for you to bring him on board for the role?
I went to New York to meet Joseph Cross, and we met at a little coffee shop. I had such a great time speaking with him about the character and about the role that I completely missed my flight that I was supposed to have because I was enjoying talking to him about it so much. He was so excited, and he had so many ideas for Bruce. I could just tell that he really understood the role. So for me, it was a no-brainer to have him on because he is such a smart actor and he has so many great, nuanced ideas that he brought to it.
When I spoke to Joseph, he said the interesting thing about Bruce is that he could have been doing this for months, decades, or hundreds of years. We just don't know. Did you think a lot about the backstory and what was going on before the movie began, or was it more fun to let the audience fill in those gaps?
Yeah, there's a lot of backstory that was written out that you don't see on the screen just to kind of fill out. I don't want to say too much and spoil the film, but there was a lot of backstory that led up to how these characters got to where they were and a lot of what is happening and the science behind everything.
I've got to bring up Juliana Layne as well. Such a terrific young actress. How was it you came to cast her in this obviously three-way ensemble you've got?
Yeah, Juliana is such a wonderful actor and props to our casting director, Lindsay, because she really brought all these incredible people together. I was so afraid of working with a child and dark subject matter, and asking them to do some pretty serious things. I was concerned about how to approach it with her because obviously, you don't want to traumatise a child. And she's such a little professional. She was just so ready to go, and she had the script memorised, maybe better than I did. She was just such an incredible actor to work with.
Affection is now playing in select theaters.