Absentia (2011)

A woman and her sister begin to link a mysterious tunnel to a series of disappearances, including that of her own husband.

Storyline:
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. As she begins to link it to other mysterious disappearances, it becomes clear that his presumed death might be anything but ‘natural.’ Soon it becomes clear that the ancient force at work in the tunnel might have set its sights on Callie and Tricia … and that Tricia’s husband might be suffering a fate far worse than death in its grasp.

Director: Mike Flanagan

Writer: Mike Flanagan

Starring:
Katie Parker as Callie
Courtney Bell as Tricia
David Levine as Det. Mallory
Morgan Peter Brown as Daniel
Justin Gordon as Det. Lonergan
James Flanagan as Jamie Lambert
Scott Graham as Dr. Elliot
Doug Jones as Walter Lambert

Absentia focuses on, Tricia (Courtney Bell) declaring her husband, Daniel (Morgan Peter Brown), dead in absentia after being missing for seven years. He just up and disappeared. No letter, no phone call, no goodbyes… just gone.

Tricia is in a very high-stress situation. She is in the midst of filing papers for her missing husband’s death certificate, she is single and pregnant, the detective assigned to her case is in love with her and her estranged sister has shown up to live with her.

Speaking of her estranged sister, one thing that I will note that is Katie Parker, as Callie, is simply gorgeous and plays a really nice role. I am looking forward to future acting roles from her. Just from her simple facial gestures to her lines, she plays a great character.

From the outset, you will notice that the picture is clear and beautiful, and keep in mind that I am looking at a screener copy. In addition to the clean, crisp filming job, the movie is shot wonderfully. Camera angles are used effectively and not overused. The use of shadows is just done perfectly. So many shots stick with you after viewing the film. I can see this as being a film to revisit quite a few times.

The score of the film is used effectively as well. It is somewhat understated, but is still very effective in its use and does add to the film.

I know that I am definitely looking forward to anything else that director Mike Flanagan puts out after seeing the fine job done with this film.