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 Absentia’s story is simple enough. Callie (Katie Parker) is a recovering drug addict who visits her pregnant sister Tricia (Courtney Bell). It’s been seven years since Tricia’s husband Daniel (Morgan Peter Brown) disappeared and Tricia is battling her conscience as she prepares to sign his “Death in Absentia” certificate.
Meanwhile, Callie begins to suspect that an ominous narrow tunnel located near Tricia’s house is connected to Daniel’s disappearance. Strange things begin to happen as the sisters deal with issues of grief, faith, and the struggle to make sense out of senseless tragedy.
Let me start by saying that most micro-budget movies usually suffer from one or more of the following maladies:
- Bad acting
- Bad direction
- Bad lighting/camerawork
- Bad sound
- Bad editing
The one area, however, where every movie, no matter how low the budget, has the potential to excel is in the writing. Unfortunately, far too many filmmakers give their scripts short shrift. This is especially true in a genre I hold near and dear to my heart, horror. You see, far too many filmmakers think that horror is about shocking an audience, disturbing them, “rattling their cages”. But what they ‘re missing is that horror is about ideas, challenging perceptions, showing us a mirror image of our world that has a jagged crack running right through the center of it.
And it’s through that crack that the nightmares come...
So, how would I describe Absentia? I think the following adjectives sum it up quite nicely: confident, creepy, intelligent, mature, and mesmerizing. And despite a couple lighting issues (see the Visual Look section below), this movie is an example to all micro-filmmakers of what is possible if you have the talent and drive to tell an intelligent story using the resources available to you.
I don’t want to give away too much about the story, but I believe everyone (especially horror fans) owes it to themselves to check it out. It’s enough to say that the greatness of the script isn’t what’s explicitly stated or shown, but rather what’s implied. It’s the suggestion of character relationships and dynamics, allowing the audience to fill in the gaps. I was reminded of the Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In, which has a similar character-driven tone to Absentia.
Minor Spoilers Ahoy
Take for instance Tricia’s pregnancy. When we first meet her and learn that her husband went missing seven years ago, the question arises, “Okay. So, who’s the baby daddy?” Well, through gradual reveals we come to learn that Detective Ryan Mallory (Dave Levine) is the father. Of course, it’s assumed pretty early on that he and Tricia are more than just professionally connected, but Flanagan’s script never spells this out. There are very few expository scenes where characters prattle on and on about what has happened, explaining plot points or motivations through dialogue. No, everything is shown through actions!
The first rule of great directing is great casting. Of course, many micro-budget filmmakers don’t have access to the talent pool director Flanagan has (he lives and works in L.A.). But that’s really just an excuse. Great talent exists everywhere. You just have to be willing to put the work into finding it.
Great acting is in the eyes. It’s about an actor disappearing and becoming consumed by the character. Like editing, sound, and other elements, acting should be seamless, never distracting, or drawing attention to itself. It should draw us into the story, not remind us that we’re watching a movie. If the character is “real,” living the experiences on screen, then the actor has done his or her job. This describes the acting across the board in Absentia.
Lead Katie Parker is going to be a star someday. Mark my words. She has that spark, a rare mix of charm, likeability, and sincerity. She’s beautiful, but not in an inaccessible way. Her performance was real, combining toughness and fragility. People are dying for authenticity, and she has it. I sincerely hope she never loses that quality. Likewise, her co-star Courtney Bell is a wonderfully talented actress who delivers a fresh, believable performance as Tricia. She was actually pregnant during the production, which must have made what was an emotionally demanding role all the more difficult. The chemistry between the two leads gave credibility to their relationship; I really believed these two were sisters who had a history together.
Other honorable mentions are Morgan Peter Brown as Tricia’s missing husband, Daniel. Despite his limited screen time, his presence is felt throughout the movie. His character provides the emotional core of Absentia and makes the threat of “the thing in the walls” seem very real. Dave Levine (Detective Mallory) and Justin Gordon (Detective Lonergan) play what could have been cop clichés, but instead, created small, real moments that give their characters depth and substance.
And, of course, a real coup for the film (and one of the definite advantages to being in the City of Angels) was getting notable character actor Doug Jones for the role of Walter Lambert, a man who disappeared from the neighborhood years earlier. Jones is probably best known for his roles as Abe Sapien in Hellboy 1 and 2 and as the terrifying Fauno and Pale Man in Pan’s Labyrinth. He was also in one of the best hours of horror television ever produced, playing one of the Gentlemen in the “Hush” episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And while Jones is amazing in these creature roles, his brief, but startling appearance in Absentia proves he needs more roles sans makeup.
I could go on and on about the actors in this movie. Even actors who appeared in only one or two scenes were memorable and only added to the richness of the story (I’m specifically thinking of James Flanagan as Walter’s son Jamie, Scott Graham as Dr. Elliot, and Ian Gregory and Connie Ventress as Daniel’s parents).
From a technical perspective, Absentia is nearly flawless.
Absentia is directed with a confident, sure hand and credit has to go to the Director of Photography (Rustin Cerveny) as well as director, Flanagan. The shot selection was solid. Unique angles and differing perspectives created a feeling of unease throughout the film; however, these choices never felt awkward or forced. Solid camera direction is essential to telling an effective visual story. A poorly-composed shot or violation of the 180-degree-rule can pull an audience right out of the story, leaving them feeling disengaged and unsatisfied with the experience. Absentia, thankfully, never suffers from this avoidable misstep.
There were, however, a few technical issues (I did say nearly flawless after all). In a few shots, characters were backlit in a doorway or in front of a large, living room window, their faces cast in silhouette. This wasn’t horribly distracting; it just felt like it was more the result of limited lighting (i.e. budgetary restraints) rather than specific artistic choices. An example of where violating this backlighting “rule” worked to Absentia’s advantage was when Callie is jogging through that ominous tunnel. Several shots show her at the far end of the tunnel, out-of-focus in the background, silhouetted against a blinding white blaze of daylight. This created an ethereal, otherworldly feel and was perfect for evoking a sense of the disjointed and alien nature of the tunnel itself.
Speaking of the tunnel, it made for a perfect location and is a great example of writing your script around what you have access to. As I understand it, director Flanagan came up with the story of Absentia as a way to feature this creepy tunnel, which is located near his home. Too often, and I’m guilty of this myself, micro-filmmakers don’t consider what they have access to and can use for free. This is essential if your film is going to get made.
The only other problem, from a technical perspective that I noticed was some vignetting around the edges of the frame in a few shots. This was especially evident in one scene that occurs late into the film. It involved two characters in Tricia’s house being stalked by the creature (I don’t want to go into too many specifics for risk of spoiling the film). The scene in questions was so taut with suspense, well-acted, and perfectly cut together that, to be perfectly honest, I didn’t even notice the vignetting until my second viewing.
The special effects in Absentia are understated and never distract from the story. At the end of the day, this is a monster movie. It reminded me of Guillermo Del Toro’s Mimic in regards to the central creature (although the thing is never fully revealed). Of course, tonally, the movie has more in common with Del Toro’s Cronos. Truth is, if you’re a gorehound, you’re going to be left wanting. But I hope most who read this, while maybe aficionados of splatter can appreciate a great story, well told, despite the lack of the red stuff.
The audio levels were clear and consistent throughout Absentia. Dialogue was never muddy and all Foley and sound effects were so well integrated into the overall sound design as to pass unnoticed (as it should be). The musical score by Ryan David Leack was subtle and effective at setting the tone; however, it was a little overused for my tastes. There were several scenes where the music was meant to heighten the tension, but the actors are so good, I think they could have carried the scene without assistance.
For example, take the scene between Tricia and Detective Mallory in the car. He’s trying to convince her of his commitment and the music felt heavy handed, trying too hard to drive home the emotional importance of the scene. That being said, I can definitely see how the music was used to bridge the scene in the car with the suspenseful scene it was juxtaposed with, so file this criticism under “personal preferences”.
The budget for Absentia was raised through crowd funding on Kickstarter.com, a fantastic site for no- and low-budget filmmakers to raise the funds needed for their projects. The original budget for Absentia, as listed on Kickstarter, was $15,000, but after the 30 day funding drive, the filmmakers had exceeded that amount, raising over $25,000! I highly recommend going to their Kickstarter page (http://thefivedrive.blogspot.com), reading their pitch to potential donors, and watching all the promo videos they put together. The videos are hilarious (nothing is more appealing than truly talented people who can make fun of themselves) and show what’s possible with a little imagination and clever selling techniques.
As to how the money was used, I think all the movie’s donors got their money’s worth. Using a Canon 5D Mark II, Flanagan and his DP, Cerveny, were able to create a cinematic look using primarily available light. And while the Canon is able to capture a nice depth of field for that extra “movie look”, this technique wasn’t overused. Along with the Canon, money was spent on a camera package that included a 35mm Lens adapter, Steadicam, Glidecam, and a homemade DSLR rig.
Additionally, a third of the budget went to that most important of areas—sound. The money was spent on both production and post-production sound, and it goes without saying (although I’m about to) that a film can only benefit from great sound. A movie with subpar images (see Paranormal Activity or The Blair Witch Project), but excellent sound can win over an audience. However, if the reverse is true, and the movie has great images but crappy sound, you’ll lose your audience every time.
Besides camera and sound, the budget also included location permits and another important category craft services.
I know, I know. We seem to drive this point home a lot here at MicroFilmmaker, but that’s because many of us have either worked on a set where the only available grub included stale bagels and questionable cream cheese, or made the near-tragic mistake of not feeding those good folks who so generously gave of their free time to help us on our projects.
So, will Absentia stand the test of time? Will others want to view it again and again? While those who really like their horror dripping with goo and spew will be disappointed, I think anyone who appreciates subtle, creeping, quiet, character-driven horror will be very satisfied. This movie isn’t just for horror fans, mind you. No, anyone who appreciates great storytelling, acting, and that good ‘ol indie-filmmaking spirit will most certainly enjoy it too.
Absentia is a creepy, subtle, old-school horror movie, and personally, I loved it. I still can’t get over how good all the actors were. I was completely drawn into the story; not just the first time I watched it, but the second time as well. It’s a slow burn, for sure, but it was refreshing to see a filmmaker show the maturity, confidence, and restraint that’s on display here. I realize much of the “restraint” was due to budgetary limitations, but all the choices felt like artistic ones.
While I have yet to watch Flanagan’s earlier works (at least at the time of this writing), Absentia makes me eager to check them out. All involved deserve high praise for their contributions to such a fine example of micro-filmmaking excellence!
FULL DISCLOSURE: Mike Flanagan has written for MicroFilmmaker Magazine in the past. As recently as last issue as a matter of fact. You can read his “behind-the-scenes” article on the production of Absentia here. However, he only began writing for MFM after two of his films were given Best of Show awards. I was chosen to critique Mike’s latest effort because I had no previous relationship with him. He paid for a full, impartial critique and that’s exactly what he received.
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Content |
10.0 |
Visual
Look |
9.8 |
Use
of Audio |
10.0 |
Use
of Budget |
10.0 |
Lasting
Appeal |
10.0 |
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10.0 |
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Joel G. Robertson co-wrote and directed the feature The Whole Town Is Sleeping and has made numerous shorts, including Shadows of the Dead, a winner of Fangoria's First Blood Drive competition. He also runs the site Forgotten Flix, which is dedicated to championing movies, both old and new, that deserve more attention. |
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