Absentia main backdrop
Absentia main poster

5.8/10 • 346

2011-03-031h 31m

HorrorMystery

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.

Directors
Mike Flanagan
Writters
Mike Flanagan
Editors
Mike Flanagan, Mike Flanagan

Top Billed Cast

View Credits
  1. Katie Parker

    Katie Parker

    Callie

  2. Courtney Bell

    Courtney Bell

    Tricia

  3. Morgan Peter Brown

    Morgan Peter Brown

    Daniel

  4. Dave Levine

    Dave Levine

    Det. Mallory

  5. Justin Gordon

    Justin Gordon

    Det. Lonergan

  6. Doug Jones

    Doug Jones

    Walter Lambert

  7. Connie Ventress

    Connie Ventress

    Ruth

  8. Ian Gregory

    Ian Gregory

    Mitch

  9. Erin Cipolletti

    Erin Cipolletti

    Uniformed Officer

Reviews4

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John Chard Avatar

John Chard

Oct 18, 2015

8/10

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

Media

  • Absentia poster
  • Absentia poster
  • Absentia poster
  • Absentia poster
  • Absentia poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$70,000.00
Revenue
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Keywords
griefapparitioninvestigatormissing persontunneldeclared deadmissing husbandreturned alivesister sister relationshipabsent husbandunderpass