Absentia (VOD)
| release date | July 1 2011 |
| studio | Phase 4 Films |
| director | Mike Flanagan |
| writer | Mike Flanagan |
| starring | Katie Parker, Courtney Bell, Dave Levine, Doug Jones |
| rating | NR |
| site | absentiamovie.com |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
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3 Comments
I had been looking forward to this movie for a while…The first half of this movie was good but as the movie went on it got weird and somewhat stupid…You think you have the movie figured out and goes a COMPLETELY different direction..overall a decent movie, I guess
A sleeper hit of a psychological horror film that will have you in suspense and scratching your head trying to figure it all out and had a few solid scares with two surprising solid performances from two newcomers Katie Parker and Courtney Bell who are likable and relatable making their characters effective and worth rooting for. This movie definitely gets under your skin and is the best minimal budget horror film since the original Paranormal Activity mixed with films like Stir Of Echoes and though not as great as those it is still just as spooky and very ambitious little film that could. The film answers little if any questions and ends the story a little too quickly as if you were reading a good book and you are at the peak of interest and you flip the page only to find that it’s blank which was frustrating and disappointing but gives me hope that their will be a sequel somewhere down the road because this film desperately needs one. The filmmaker Mike Flanagan does wonders with his limited budget and is such an expert in attention to details and creating bone chilling suspense and frights that I can only imagine greatness if he has a much larger budget, he is definitely one to look out for and I hope he doesn’t stop here at making horror movies because he definitely knows what he is doing even on a low budget and that shows great potential and talent. Overall even though I was left in limbo for most of the time because of no clarification on what is happening I still found the film to be gripping, one of a kind little gem that had more effective spooks than big budget horror films that get released to theaters and it’s an admirable horror film for that and it’s a shame that most independant, straight to video horror films like this don’t get notice as much as theatrical released ones which most of the time these days are lackluster and disappointing and it’s too sporadic unfortunately to see great efforts and something different as this. Good rental, now bring on the sequel to end this story right. Recommended! 7 out of 10
I can’t say that this was a movie worth more than a 4 rating.
When the film first starts, you get to meet the two lead actresses in this film. They are polar opposites but both characters work together in their own way. So as for acting, this movie has a great choice in low budget stars.
The beginning of the film was great. Creepy, atmospheric, and just downright chilling….
Then they tried to add the rest of the story.
You start to think that this is a film about ghosts and the history of what happened to the husband of the lead character. As the movie goes on, the scenes of the husband just downright gives you chills. Then, they story takes a turn and he is no longer a part of the story in that way.
It decided to tell a different story. This part of the film is lead by the woman’s sister. So, in all rights, both women could have been called lead actresses.
She tells a story that builds up a frightful story of another kind. But here is the part that is a big letdown.
THIS story is stupid. It had potential, but that is all it had. It starts to build up and get to a great spot in life and then…. THE END.
My feelings? WHAT? THAT WAS IT?
It tried to leave the evil to the imagination. Problem is, they told us SO much during the story, that it isn’t hard to imagine the evil side. But then they ended it and left it to your imagination, which was not needed.
This movie is an ok film, for the acting, but that is about it.
Subtle. Will go under appreciated by those expecting a face paced, gore fest. Interesting storyline, with fairly good acting and character development. Some genuinely creepy moments, and good atmosphere. It is a bit muddled near the end, but overall a decent movie. A good movie for those looking for a quiet, psychological horror movie.
Keep an eye on many of the people involved in this Cool little Creep Fest –
Creepy, unique. This is low budget but it avoids all the trappings associated with that. An intelligent script, coupled with competent acting and interesting themes. This director needs a decent budget. I would love to see what he could do with that. Recommended to indie lovers and fans of lo if horror.
Just a great, atmospheric horror/thriller that has nothing to work with, but pulls off some of the best no budget darkness since Paranormal Activity. Pumpin it up an extra skull as credit for what it had to work with.
Atmospheric, creepy, and suspenseful. Absentia is a great achievement in low budget indie filmmaking. The acting was great and felt natural, especially from Katie Parker as Callie. It truly is refreshing to see such an original story done so well. Absentia absolutely proves the point that bigger isn’t always better, and that the fear of the unknown is much greater than seeing flashy CGI monsters popping out.
I got interested in seeing this when one of my favorite bloggers had seen it. It was at Redbox and I had a free discount code so I thought, “Hey, why not?” I watched the movie in full and it was a bit slow at first. It had an interesting concept. For being a low budget, it actually had an intelligent script. Not just “witty” or stupid one liners. I enjoyed the sister’s presence more than the main woman. It was a really good movie for being low budget, but it could’ve been better. 3 stars.
This wasn’t too bad of a Psychological film. For it being Independent and low budget they seem to have made well with the resources they had. The acting was very decent from the main actors and the story was not as half bad as these things usually turn out. These days, it seems, that most Indie films that take the Psych route seem to lack in a good story. But this was decent and believable to go forward with it.
The film overall was a good one. I would recommend it to more of the horror kid who knows what most movies entail instead of the casual, dare i say, “mainstream” viewer. Nice little work out of the discount bin.
No well known actors…check…original idea…check…good creepy entertainment,oh yes.Small cast in this number and some really interesting camera work,especially when following people walking in a pedestrian tunnel.This films story comes across like a dark tale from long ago, when you watch you’ll understand.I’m surprised how enjoyable and refreshing Absentia is,I guess it helps to have low expectations before watching some films so when you stumble across a little gem you get that sudden feeling,the adrenaline is loaded. The plot developments in this story are brilliant, we are introduced into a lonely wife’s world after a seven year frustrating search for her missing husband. The opening moments are memorable,in fact this whole film experience is a memorable one.The acting is good and seems improvised at the beginning when dialogue overlaps like it does in real life. There are the obvious influences here, but hey, so what,we’ve all seen many films that are predictable and if you stay away from plot spoilers you’ll be in for a chilling treat.
It’s nice to see a woman cast in one of the lead roles who is not some gorgeous slim model. The actress Courtney Bell who plays Tricia (the wife of the missing husband) is not bad at all and the way she looks gives this film a tone of believability. Although it’s visually repetitive in places (jogging scenes)and the overall pace of the adventure could accelerate just a little, it held my attention well.Director, writer and editor Mike Flanagan has created a fine film here, his background is predominantly within television and as this is an example of his huge range of talent I genuinely wish him a long career within the film industry. However,a necessary observation – please let the opening credits role on at the beginning and not stop and start between early scenes because it’s distracting.I also noticed one brief character had too much make up on his face (homeless man in tunnel),again nothing major.
I like the way moments take their time, especially when people are thinking.Corridors can be suffocating environments and a great location in films like The Shining, Hellraiser and the excellent series on the XBOX 360 console ‘Dead Space’,however in this production instead of corridors the use of a pedestrian tunnel which is a nice claustrophobic touch, there’s something unnerving about some concrete tunnels in general because you can almost imagine there’s someone lurking and waiting for you in those shadows. I was in Central Park recently and walking through the pedestrian tunnels there – I actually thought of this film Absentia.
When you watch this film you’ll remember some of those weird children stories we read when we were young, those thoughts will be responsible for causing those forgotten rusty memory doors to open again. We experience the awful feeling of suffocation when travelling during rush hour on the overcrowded archaic London underground tube system or if you happen to live in an over populated city and ‘Absentia’ (2011) manages to play on this common fear in a unique way.
Steer clear if you need your blood and gore medication because the strength of Absentia is a good script and an intriguing creepy story, a story that’s actually original which is not easy to accomplish in such a saturated genre. Absentia is a commendable effort that reminded me a little of those the old school ‘Creepshow’ short stories. The films music score fits like a glove and is atmospheric. One late evening turn off the lights, switch off your iphone and lose yourself watching Absentia…and don’t forget to lock the front door, It may not be everyone’s entertainment flavor due to the lack of gore but it’s definitely worth a look.
bleedingcritic TM
@bleedingfilms
No well known actors…check………original idea…check………good creepy entertainment, oh yes. Small cast in this number and some really interesting camera work, especially when following people walking in a pedestrian tunnel. This films story comes across like a dark tale from long ago, when you watch you’ll understand. I’m surprised how enjoyable and refreshing Absentia is, I guess it helps to have low expectations before watching some films so when you stumble across a little gem you get that sudden feeling, the adrenaline is loaded. The plot developments in this story are brilliant, we are introduced into a lonely wife’s world after a seven year frustrating search for her missing husband. The opening moments are memorable, in fact this whole film experience is a memorable one. The acting is good and seems improvised at the beginning when dialogue overlaps like it does in real life. There are the obvious influences here, but hey, so what, we’ve all seen many films that are predictable and if you stay away from plot spoilers you’ll be in for a chilling treat.
It’s nice to see a woman cast in one of the lead roles who is not some gorgeous slim model. The actress Courtney Bell who plays Tricia (the wife of the missing husband) is not bad at all and the way she looks gives this film a tone of believability. Although it’s visually repetitive in places (jogging scenes) and the overall pace of the adventure could accelerate just a little, it held my attention well. Director, writer and editor Mike Flanagan has created a fine film here, his background is predominantly within television and as this is an example of his huge range of talent. I genuinely wish him a long career within the film industry. However, a necessary observation for Mike: please let the opening credits role on at the beginning and not stop and start between early scenes because it’s distracting. I also noticed one brief character had too much make up on his face (homeless man in tunnel), again nothing major.
I like the way moments take their time, especially when people are thinking.Corridors can be suffocating environments and a great location in films like The Shining, Hellraiser and the excellent ‘Dead Space’ series on the XBOX 360 console, however in this production instead of corridors a pedestrian tunnel is a nice claustrophobic touch, there’s something unnerving about some concrete tunnels in general because you can almost imagine there’s someone lurking and waiting for you in those shadows. I was in Central Park recently and walking through the pedestrian tunnels there – I actually thought of this film Absentia.
When you watch this film you’ll remember those weird children stories we read when we were young, those thoughts will be responsible for causing forgotten rusty memory doors to open again. We experience suffocation when travelling during rush hour on the overcrowded archaic London underground tube system, or if you happen to live in an over populated city, ‘Absentia’ (2011) manages to play on this common fear in a unique way.
Steer clear if you need your blood and gore medication because the strength of Absentia is a good script and an intriguing creepy story, a story that’s actually original which is not easy to accomplish in such a saturated genre. This a commendable effort that reminded me a little of those the old school ‘Creepshow’ short stories. The films music score fits like a glove and is atmospheric. One late evening turn off the lights, switch off your iphone and lose yourself watching Absentia…and don’t forget to lock the front door, It may not be everyone’s entertainment flavor due to the lack of gore but it’s definitely worth a look.
bleedingcritic TM
@bleedingfilms