"There are fates worse than death."
Tricia's husband 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'. Tricia is reluctant, always holding out hope, but Callie is practical and wants her to move on. 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.
Katie Parker
Callie
Courtney Bell
Tricia
Morgan Peter Brown
Daniel
Dave Levine
Det. Mallory
Justin Gordon
Det. Lonergan
Doug Jones
Walter Lambert
Connie Ventress
Ruth
Ian Gregory
Mitch
Erin Cipolletti
Uniformed Officer
Tricia's husband 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'. Tricia is reluctant, always holding out hope, but Callie is practical and wants her to move on. 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.
Three Billy Goats Gruff. Written and directed by Mike Flanagan, Absentia finds Tricia (Courtney Bell) and Callie (Katie Parker) as two sisters who come to believe that the underpass nearby could be linked to the many disappearances in the area. A slow burn indie horror is not everybody's idea of a good time, but Flanagan has crafted a smart atmospheric chiller, one with a nifty fairy tale fantasy bubbling away under the surface. Narratively it's low-key, though the air of grief and terror is palpable. The setting is a low rent area of Los Angeles, a place where the girls are told to always keep the doors locked, with the ominous underpass haunting the edges of every other frame. Flanagan filters his story through the urban locale while populating it with characters who are haunted by something unseen, or by others who are troubled by personal issues (Tricia's husband disappeared 7 years ago and Callie is fighting a needle habit). The formula scares are kept to a minimum, Flanagan choosing to imbue the story with a sense of dread, toying with the sisters and us the viewers that there just may be something truly awful lurking just out of the eye line. This is not a creature feature, like The Relic or Mimic, this is a different horror film to those. The horrors are born out of what you don't see, or what you barely glimpse, just like the classic horrors of yesteryear, with Flanagan cheekily dangling ambiguity into the bargain. It's unnerving and sad, creepy yet cunning, and a refreshing experience for those tired of big effects driven horror movies. If you like the slow burn less is more approach, with well written human drama in the bargain? Then give this a chance. 8/10
Pure filmmaking. Has the atmosphere that is by and large missing from the horror genre, opting for character development, tension, engagement and grounding rather than jump scares and gross-out gore effects. Still a horror movie, to be sure (and therefore not for everybody) but one that stands on its own. _ Final rating:★★★½ - I strongly recommend you make the time._
I watched this film without knowing it was actually directed by Mike Flanagan. When I saw his name in the beginning of the film, I immediately knew I was in for a treat! I was not wrong! There is something special about the way he tries to scare people who watch his films. I can't tell you exactly what that is. All I know is that he is bloody good at it! You could see the film had a limited budget but actually the fact that its budget was limited made the film even better. Its atmosphere was unique. The "jump scares" were not really a traditional jump scare but rather an amazing collection of moments where you wished you were so glued to the screen. Would I watch it again? Definitely! Would I make my friends watch it? ASAP!
Fantastic watch, would watch again, and do recommend, especially for horror fans. This is a movie that took from "Alien" and "Jaws" significantly in regards to seeing the danger. Admittedly, this movie does have some ramp up time where it spends a lot of time establishing the setting in the 1st act, but it (mostly) comes into play as somewhat important as the 2nd and 3rd as the story progresses. Once it starts getting creepy it increases exponentially throughout the movie, and with such a great concept and even execution. This is probably my favorite low budget horror movie, and while the movie looks a little grainy in parts, and it's a cast of (mostly) unknowns, you can tell exactly where the majority of their budge went, and it was worth it. If you have ever liked a creepy horror movie, then give this a go.
10/10 for creativity. The storyline is easy to follow, and the scares are fantastic. I also love the creature design.
A boy and his stepmother fear for their safety after an eerie creature resembling the boy's recently deceased father visits them.
Not long after John Chambers and his family arrive at their new home in a small country town of Pennsylvania, John begins to experience sleep paralysis. Lying there paralyzed, trapped within his own nightmare, other-worldly beings visit John. They are entities which exist in the darkest shadows of the night and can only be seen out of the corner of one's eye. These encounters begin to haunt John, transforming to complete terror as he discovers the entities' sole purpose... the abduction of his seven year old son. In the end, John will uncover the town's horrific secret, a portal on his land, and make one last attempt to save his son before the shadow people permanently take him away to their world.
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