The Disappeared

A gritty council estate drama about a missing kid, with the usual run of domestic violence, hoodie gangs, street crime, beatings, social workers and creepy adults. It's down to earth and realistic, eliciting decent performances from its mostly teenage cast; Harry Treadaway is particularly good as the boy grieving for his lost brother. Unfortunately, though, this story is very familiar (URBAN GHOST STORY is just one of the many others I remember doing the same kind of thing), and it doesn't have a great deal to differentiate it from the rest.

It's gently haunting for the most part, with the ghost story taking the form of snatched visions, unexplained domestic events and a general feeling of suspense and foreboding. The sub-plot involving a medium and her young girl was very well done, I thought, and the twist ending is undeniably powerful (if very familiar, considering all the other films ploughing the same furrow). Cast nods go to Tom Felton (Harry Potter's Malfoy) playing a refreshingly non-magical teen for once, Ros Leeming as the poignant love interest and Alex Jennings (who some may remember from Children's BBC's ALFONSO BONZO) as a kindly vicar.

Well acted, nicely shot, and with a solid score, this is a decent feature. It's only real flaws are an extremely derivative, and occasionally confused, plot; and some slightly clumsy dialogue at times.

It looks good, without being spectacular, which entirely suits its council estate setting. Combined with excellent performances from the leads, it could almost work as a pure kitchen sink drama. Despite not being given much to say, Harry Treadaway and Greg Wise are a convincingly troubled father and son. The support is also broadly good; Tom Felton is particularly notable.

The troubles come with the exasperatingly unoriginal plot - it borrows and from a whole selection of similar films. The good news is that it does choose some of the best to steal from; the trouble that it isn't good enough to stand up to these classics. However, it holds together well, at least until the latter stages, when a few too many extraneous ingredients are thrown into the pot.

Broadly, a decent effort if not outstanding. Given the mechanics, I would be interested to see future work from the team behind it - they just need some more original ideas to start with.

Saw this film last night at the ICA and then afterwards there was a Q&A session which included Tom and Johnny Kevorkian and Neil Murphy who both co-wrote and co-produced the film. The film was excellent. Very atmospheric and probably more frightening because it is set in such a mundane setting. Not Gothic horror but backyard horror - but horror nonetheless. The acting was superb by the young cast leads, Harry Treadaway and Tom Felton. The cinematography used a colour palate that reflected the dreary humdrum life that was obviously the norm for the characters. The editing could have been tightened up a little but overall the pace was well set. The music was perfectly written to reflect everything you saw on screen without being dominant or leading where the screen images didn't follow.

A truly frightening experience but one I can well recommend.

Just give it a go if you like this genre ! The raw talent of Harry is so evident and the story is interesting. The story is something you will have seen before, but it is worthy a watch. The setting in the council estate adds to the atmosphere!

After suffering a mental breakdown following the disappearance of his younger brother, Matt is released from the hospital and tries to get back to a sense of normalcy. However, his father blames him and Matt's own guilt continues to haunt him. Before long, visions of his brother begin to plague him as well. Is it just Matt having another breakdown, or is his brother really appearing to him?

This interesting British horror works as a sort of old school mystery by way of ghost story. The overall feel of the film is very ominous from the start. Matt, previously a happy teen, is now alienated and deeply troubled. He meets a girl who lives next door, herself a rather distant sort. Some of the ghostly encounters with the brother are typical. Other bits, like a scene with a psychic, are eerie and add to the intrigue of the picture. One major aspect of the story is easily telegraphed. Another, not so much. The climactic scenes are strong, the ending suitably somber. While the film falls back on certain clichés at times, it's still an effective slice of ghostly horror that packs a nice bit of emotional resonance.