Absentia

Summary: Mike Flanagan's first horror feature is an effective psychological thriller, packed with surprising moments, good performances and clever scares. 80/100 (B+)

Tricia's husband Daniel has been missing for seven years. Her younger sister Callie comes to live with her as the pressure mounts to finally declare him dead in absentia. As Tricia sifts through the wreckage and tries to move on with her life, Callie finds herself drawn to an ominous tunnel near the house. As she begins to link it to other mysterious disappearances, it becomes clear that Daniel's presumed death might be anything but natural. The ancient force at work in the tunnel might have set its sights on Callie and Tricia... and Daniel might be suffering a fate far worse than death in its grasp. Absentia is a great psychological horror film that will leave you guessing about what was real and what was not. It is a very well done low-budget flick, superbly acted, original and sinister.

Absentia is a strangely original movie. I really liked all of the psychological aspects of it. Flanagan surprises us with a bunch of unexpected scares, and some relentless drama. Also, the acting was quite good. The film does not feel hampered by its extremely low budget ($75,000 US), all of the scares have quality. It is impressive how well this film is directed. The performances were great, and I cared about the characters. If you are a horror fan you should not miss this hidden gem. It is amazing what Flanagan can do with a micro-budget. In spite of a kinda boring musical score, I still loved Absentia. It is one of the most thought-provoking horror films I have seen, it deals with a very moving story that is painfully sad. The ending leaves some questions, but it makes the film even more debatable. (B+)

ABSENTIA marks a refreshing change for the low budget horror genre; there are no lame zombies here or psycho killers torturing their nubile victims. Instead, this is a sweeping, Lovecraftian episode in creeping terror, a subtle production where it's all about what you don't see rather than what you do. There are few clichés or stock jump scenes here, just originality shining through instead.

The entire movie is set around a creepy haunted subway and it's here that the director really shines. Mike Flanagan knows what works when it comes to building a sense of unease and undefined tension on the screen and a wonderfully evocative score really adds to the experience. Some viewers may be put off by the fact that the film's just too subtle in places - it could easily be described as one of those movies where "nothing much happens", like THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT - but like BLAIR WITCH it knows what it's doing.

There are flaws here, not least a slightly overwrought script and some particularly unsympathetic characters who do little to gain the viewer's sympathy or indeed attention. Courtney Bell is saddled with the most uninteresting part, although at least Katie Parker's character has a little more conflict with her druggie background. Still, ABSENTIA is a film where the characters come a distinct second in comparison to the genuine suspense and fear built up elsewhere. Watch out for a creepy cameo from Doug Jones.

I do not really understand why the average rate of Absentia is so low. Well, maybe I do understand, if you watch this horror with the expectations that you get a fast paced gore filled typical horror movie, you will be disappointed. Absentia is a slow one, and it basically has no real gore. So just skip it if that's what you are going for, and save this little gem the downrates which it really doesn't deserve.

Now, that having sad, Absentia has something different to offer. It's not per say in the storyline itself, which, when you read it, doesn't seem too original. What it's got to offer is mainly in the mood. The soundtrack, which is relatively minimum, really adds to the claustrophobic and depressing atmosphere. The acting is well done, realistic and believable, and the characters are well worked out and take the plot to a higher level. There are some weird things in the plot that make you wonder what is really going on. It gives the perfect sense of mystery, never fully explaining it, but definitely enough to leave you satisfied.

I found Absentia more of an experience, though it doesn't come short to the story at all. Things may or may not make sense, and you might wonder a couple of times how much comes to perception and how much of it is really happening, it doesn't take anything away from the story or from the mood. It only adds to it.

I was a bit reluctant when I put the DVD into my player but all my doubts faded away within the first minutes. The movie is perfectly shot, everything just works really really well. I am very pleasantly surprised and think it certainly belongs to one of the best horror movies of 2011.

The only bad thing I have to say about it is that a few times I found it hard to follow the dialogue (mumbling) and had to rewind to listen to it again.

Watch it if you get the chance, and if you like horror which crawls deeply under your skin. Do not watch it if you want action and gore.

This movie is not perfect. For those who expect perfection, you'll be hard to please with this one.

I've read some negative reviews and many of them seem to be harping on how the lead actress is pregnant when her husband has been missing for 7 years or whether the events that transpired are supposed to be mere hallucinations of her younger drug-addicted sister. These things are definitely clarified in the movie, so if you find yourself being bothered by such trivial matters, you probably weren't paying attention.

The scary/horrifying moments are good; some of them did send shivers up my spine. The possibilities of what caused the horrific events are explained, and it's a phenomena that is in fact discussed in the real world. So its not entirely a senseless fantasy.

Yes there are moments that seem unexplained, but again, with enough attention paid, you'll be able to figure out why this character was doing that or why that character said this. In a way, this movie reminds me of Rosemary's Baby, in that much is left up to your imagination; no in-your-face creatures and gore. BUT this is definitely MUCH BETTER than Rosemary's Baby as just the right amount is revealed to terrify while just the right amount is left a mystery, for added suspense and thrill.

In my opinion, it worked. I'd give this a 6 only because the soundtrack of the movie bothered me a little. But it deserves a 6.5. I mean Rosemary's Baby annoyed the crap out of me for too much was left unknown and unseen. Yet that's got a whopping 8/10. Give this movie a shot.

This somber yet deeply unsettling film managed to give me the willies even in the less-than-ideal Horrorhound Weekend screening.

Not soon after a pregnant woman (Katie Parker) declares her missing husband (Morgan Peter Brown) legally dead, she begins to having terrifying visions that hint that maybe she spoke too quickly. Writer/director Flanagan pulls off an incredible feat with this film. He manages to reinvent the ghost story, then takes it to an unexpected, even creepier place.

Don't be fooled by the show-burn pacing, because the almost-suffocating tension had me squirming in my seat, forgetting to breathe.

It's been almost a year since I've seen ABSENTIA. What haunts me most is not the disturbing visuals or even the deeply unsettling story line. It's the mood. When I simply think about the title, I hear in my head its stark, two-note funeral organ score and my chest wells up with emotions not usually incurred by watching a horror movie: grief, loss and perhaps the most terrifying of all…the dread of inevitability.

Toss in a pitch perfect cast, including a heart-wrenching cameo from the always delicious Doug Jones, and BOOM! You've got my favorite horror movie of 2011.