https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa1UJLqYeBU
Absentia inspires with its ability to create genuine scares and intrigue with so
little. As you watch, you get the impression that writer/ director Mike Flanagan
wanted to make a movie and wrote a story based on the resources he had which
are an apartment with a nearby spooky pedestrian tunnel. Absentia is the story of
a wayward young woman who visits her older sister Tricia who is about to
declare her missing husband dead in absentia. The story has a genuine sense
of gravitas as the day approaches, and the story takes a pointed twist when the
husband reappears. Flanagan organically and powerfully keeps the story in
one location by making Tricia feel genuinely compelled to stay in her
apartment in the hope that her missing husband will return.
The strongest aspect of this movie is its direction especially the use of darkness
rather than graphic imagery although there's plenty of that to frighten. Scenes
are often framed in such a way that you get an vague impression what is going on.
There are a number of instances where something out of focus in the background
creates a suspense. I find long pedestrian tunnels to be inherently creepy and Mike
Flanagan uses it to the utmost.
The cinematography is flat but functional. You don't get any of those dramatic
shafts of light piercing the darkness. It's bare bones.
The set design is where Absentia really underperforms. At the front door, there is
nothing but a grey wall. A plant or a coat rack at the entrance would have prevented
those scenes from looking amateurish. Callie's bedroom also had a barren look that
undermined the quality of the movie.
The cast was good. I especially liked Tricia played by Courtney Bell who came off as
very real person.
The biggest issue I had was with the story. It wants to be multi-faceted but doesn't
quite pull it off. The story starts off with being about the missing husband haunting the
wife he left behind and then it turns into this monster movie as we learn of other
missing people. The story further evolves into one where perfectly logical
non-supernatural actions explain everything that proceeded as we learn of Callie's
drug abuse and the rocky relationship Tricia had with her missing husband.
I know what Mike Flanagan wanted to do but I'm not sure he pulls it off. A
number of the Netflix user comments expressed disappointment that they did
not actually see the monster. The problem may have been less that the monster
wasn't seen but that it was introduced late into the story.
I think the missing husband needed to be more prominent in the story. I also
thought the detective could have been a bigger influence in the plot. To a
certain extent, Absentia spins its wheels with footage of Callie jogging and praying
whereas these secondary characters could enrich the story. The screenplay was
a few rewrites from where it should have been.
Actually, Absentia has two other locations, a police station and a hospital. The police
station was a generic office, and the hospital did look like some sort of medical facility.
I thought both of these locations could been have cut from the story with little effect.
Perhaps, the savings could have been put into set dressing.
Another budget buster involved police cars in front of the townhouse. I think the scene
could have been omitted or toned down. It was something that required permits while
everything else have been done guerrilla style.
Overall, I enjoyed this movie immensely and was certainly inspired to continue with my
own limited location movie. While there is always this joy in finding undiscovered
gems, it is equally disheartening that Absentia hasn't propelled Mike Flannagan into
the ranks of those that work at the major studios. Absentia has received some buzz
on the festival circuit and apparently Flannagan is coming out with another feature
film in the near future. I found this on Netflix so there is still hope that someone at a major
production company will ask him to helm a big budget film .
Phil Hwang
Phil Hwang
