Absentia

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.

"Absentia" actually turned out to be a rather nice surprise of a movie. I must admit that I had expected somewhat more horror from it, whereas it turned out to be a character driven mystery instead. But still, it was quite nice.

The story is about Tricia Riley (played by Courtney Bell) whose husband Daniel Riley (played by Morgan Peter Brown) has been missing for seven years, and now ready to have the death certificate issued and brought the case to a closure, something unexpected happens...

The movie is slow paced, but that actually works out well enough in favor of the movie, as it helps to build the setting and set up the mood for the entire story. The director, Mike Flanagan, is great at adding little bits to the story while building up a good sense of mystery and dread, and at the same time leaving almost everything up to the imagination of the viewer.

"Absentia" was really brought to life on the screen by the people they had cast for the various roles. Sure this wasn't a major Hollywood production with an obscene amount of money put into the project, but Mike Flanagan proves that you don't need a ridiculously huge budget in order to make a memorable movie that sinks right in. So despite it being a smaller budget movie, the end result was far better than what I had expected.

If you like movies that are thick on suspense and a dire mood, then "Absentia" is well worth checking out. Don't watch this movie with the hopes or intentions to be scared out of your brain, because it is just not that type of horror movie.

I was thoroughly entertained by "Absentia" and I do love it when I happen to fall upon the odd movie here and there that is a gem in disguise. And it was a nice treat to sit in the dark and sort of being fed just enough information to make you start to think and try to figure out what was going on, and at the end being left in the dark to draw your own conclusions as to what was really going on.

Thumbs way up for "Absentia".

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.

After enjoying Ouija origin of evil and hush, and after ADORING oculus, i decided to watch some of flanagan's other movies. you can see his raw talent at work in this indy flick. you could definitely feel the low-budget nature of the movie, but you could also feel the clever story-telling and creative scares, not to mention the general sense of dread and suspense. i had a good time with this movie (1 viewing, 3/21/2021)