Absentia

Absentia (2011)

Director: Mike Flanagan

Writer: Mike Flanagan

Stars: Katie Parks, Courtney Bell, Dave Levine

The Dirt:

Tricia's (Courtney Bell) husband has been missing for seven years, long enough to be declared dead in absentia. As she prepares to sign the forms to declare him toast and also give birth to a baby by a man she has begun seeing recently (SLUT!), Callie (The yummy Katie Parker) her ex-junkie sister, comes to live with her and help her through this trying time. Shiz get's a lot more trying though as something sinister rears it's ugly head out of a tunnel down the street from them. This something may be involved in Tricia's husband's disappearance as well as others. This something may be not of this world. This something may have it's eye on Tricia and Callie. This something.....well you get the point.

My Two-Cents:

Man, I wanted to like this flick. I really did. Had so much potential. Yet in the end, like bad sex with that beautiful woman with the bangin' body you swore would be a freak in the bed, it let me down.
I heard a lot of people compare this film to H.P. Lovecraft's work. These people are high. Yes, it displayed a bleak, depressing story where the horrors of the unknown invade the normal everyday lives of average people. But a Lovecraft story these elements alone, do not make.
Look, I'm a HUGE Lovecraft fan. Dude really knew how to ignite the imagination and tap into our fears of the unknown. Insanity, unspeakable horrors, forgotten legends; this was the stuff good ol H.P. traded in. His work took an everyday person and with no warning or even a reason, dropped them into a situation so terrifying and full of unspeakable horror, that we, the reader, were left dumbstruck and chilled. These weren't tangible horror's, these were thing's just beyond the pale. Thing's we couldn't quite grasp no matter how much we tried, but that were without a doubt, pure, unadulterated evil.
But it was more than those elements that made Lovecraft's tales work so damn well. Dude was a master of pacing. He knew how to draw the story out at a slow burn pace yet kept us interested and on the edge of our seats the whole time while all the pieces came together, drawing us ever closer to a dark revelation. Reading one of his stories was like standing in front of a body covered by a sheet listening to the gruesome details of the person's demise and being told the awful condition the body is in. Knowing that you're going to look under that sheet in the end and that it's going to be fucked up!
THIS was what "Absentia" was missing. This is why, to me, the film falls flat. But I digress. (Not really.)

Before I get into what I feel are the reasons this flick failed, allow me to point out some of the good shite. Some things are worth mentioning in all fairness.

I have to admit that the concept here is an interesting one, even creepy. Flanagan gets points for trying something different. These types of flicks (Ya know, something spooky is happening and only one person knows the truth but no one believes them.) tend to be paint by numbers these days, so dude gets credit for bucking the norm.
I also gotta give Flanagan props for making this film on a grocery budget. Seriously! It was funded by a Kickstarter campaign and totaled 25,000 bucks. Steven Spielberg gives out larger tips for blow jobs! The movie "Clerks" from Kevin Smith cost more money (27,000), just to give you an idea. Thing is, with "Absentia" ya can't really tell it was shot on such a meager budget aside from the no namers that populate the flick. Flanagan def knows how to get some bang for his buck. Shame he couldn't use that bang to bring more life to his story.

Don't think I am picking on ol Flanie, I just calls it as I see's it. Dude has some good shots though. Love how he did Parks jogging scene, good camera work. Dude def has his moments, but not enough of them. He def did better in his newest effort "Oculus". (Most of the cast here is featured in that film.)

As far as atmosphere is concerned, Flanagan doesn't do bad there either. This fucker is bleak and a sense of hopelessness permeates every scene. Loss and grief are explored, as is the idea of change and moving on. I won't lie, I dug the many layers the film presented, I just wish it all went somewhere.
The score is kept simple and for the most part is effective. It could be eerie at times. Not always the right times though...

The acting, especially for such a low budget affair is top notch. Aside from the different story, this is probably the strongest part of the whole shabang. Katie Parks turns in a solid performance and helps elevate this film above it's low budget constraints. She's very likable and comes across as a real person struggling to overcome the mistakes she made in the past while attempting to help her sister put things back together in her own life.
Courtney Bell def gets props too. Not only does she play one of the leads and does a great job, but she was also line producer for the flick as well. Oh and she was really preggers during the shooting. Seven months to be exact. Girl I didn't know you could get down like that?
Dave Levine and Justin Gordon play the two detectives trying to figure out just what in the sam hell is going on. They don't do a bad job, but can someone please tell me what the fuck is wrong with Gordons mouth? Is dude chewing something or does his shit just move like that? Like, is it a palsy or some shit? Shiz was annoying the fuck out of me!

Gorehounds and Pervs, look elsewhere. Nothing to see here, as it should be. This one relies on other elements to deliver it's scares....well...it tries to.

Ok, so ya got the good. Now for the bad...

This flick goes no where. The word mediocre comes to mind. We are asked to invest ourselves in Tricia and Callies lives, their struggles, which thanks to decent performances on Bell and Parks part, we are able to do to a degree, but we get no real pay off. I felt like I got a hand job by a hot asian chick who wasn't sure of what she was doing and ended up with a crappy ending!
The story's choppy too, like Flanagan wasn't sure which way he wanted to go at times. Ever have an incomplete thought? That's how some of the scene's here came across to me.
Then there is the scene's that are supposed to be frightening. Yeah...they weren't. The response from the characters to what was happening during these scenes felt all wrong. Not impressed by a monster dragging your loved one away are we? With this type of film, scene's like this are the meat and potatoes. We are supposed to be thrust into the horror that has invaded the lives of these characters we have come to like and care about. But when the characters themselves fail to properly respond, how can we feel anything?
If Flanagan was attempting to tap into Lovecraft, he failed. Lovecraft made us feel the horror just as much as his characters did. He held us in his hand fully and tightened his grip ever so slowly. His stories stayed with us long after we finished them. If not for Parks sexy ass I'd probably have forgotten this one immediately.

Don't let all the film festival awards on the poster fool you. "Absentia" had a lot of promise. Good actors, interesting story. But it never grasps it's potential. Which is a damn shame. This easily could have become a classic. Yeah I know it's low budget, but that's not an excuse. "To Jennifer" was shot on an Iphone for next to nothing and managed to be tense and suspenseful. Word has it Flanagan wrote this one in two sittings and it shows. It's just not fleshed out enough and many of the idea's aren't followed through on. A little more time spent refining the script would have seriously benefited this one. It's kinda frustrating actually. This really could have been so much better!
I give it two blood soaked butcher knives out of five. Look, if ya got nothing better to do one day and ya want to kill two hours and ya can't seem to locate anything better, then MAYBE you could give it a watch. Otherwise, there is just too many better films to see to bother wasting your time with this one. Nuff said!

Sooooo...if a fat man hasn't seen his...ya know, wang doodle in like seven years, does that mean he can have it declared dead in absentia?