My Review of Absentia (2011)

 

Written And Directed by Mike Flanagan

Tricia (to Callie): "Don't underestimate the attraction of oblivion. Not until you've lived a little longer."

Long before the days he hit the heights of his Netflix shows or made a well received sequel to The Shining, Mike Flanagan had to have his first movie get the crowdfunding treatment. It was his debut and it's one that's not lacking in premise.

The premise involving a pregnant woman named Tricia Riley (Courtney Bell) having to legally declare her missing husband, Daniel (Morgan Peter Brown) dead in absentia. Of course this wouldn't be the only thing that Tricia would have to deal with here.

There was the return of her younger sister, Callie Russel (Katie Parker). A former addict, Callie was there to be a support system for her pregnant sister but Callie seeing things that seemingly weren't there somewhat put her at odds with Tricia. Funnily enough, Tricia was also seeing things that weren't there.

With Callie, she encountered another missing man named Walter Lambert (Doug Jones). His son, Jamie (James Flanagan) would later get accused of being a killer, having fed dogs to his own father but of course there was more to it than that.

For example, Tricia's romance with Detective Mallory (Dave Levine) got derailed when Daniel actually returned but even his return was short-lived. Tricia was resentful towards him being back and Callie realised that the tunnels were behind several disappearances in the last century.

The ending was something of a downbeat one. Tricia ended up disappearing first and when Callie tried to make a sacrifice to get her sister back, she disappeared too. The end scene likely set up a future disappearance for other characters.

- Courtney Bell, who played Tricia was Mike Flanagan's partner at the time. She'd also appear in Oculus and Before I Wake. Mike's brother James appeared as Jamie.

- It's an updated version of Three Billy Goats Gruff. Callie's also reading a comic book version of a Stephen King novel.

- Standout music: Beezle's Bleed With Me.

- Chronology: Seven years had passed in Glendale since the dusappearance of Daniel Riley.

While not a personal favourite of mine, I can see the influences that Absentia would have on Mike Flanagan's work as a horror writer and director. It's a good debut, playing well into the notion of hidden monsters and other worlds that people could be tormented in. The sister dynamic with Tricia and Callie did hold it together.

Rating: 6 out of 10