I recently posted about new and upcoming Lovecraftian-themed movies (oh, and don’t waste your time or money on Melancholia, by the way). So, speaking of that, I just finished watching Absentia.
I was blown away.
It’s safe to say that I am constantly disappointed by horror movies these days. Most movies cost millions to produce, and they’re crap. In fact, most low budget direct-to-DVD movies are crap. Film-makers confuse horror with gore so much that it’s becoming a cliche to say so. But it’s still true.
Absentia is a movie that was made on a $70,000 budget, yet it’s one of the best horror movies I’ve seen in years. I watched it because the synopsis seemed Lovecraftian, and I wasn’t disappointed. Don’t expect lots of action — it’s not that kind of movie. But it sure nails the “fear of the unknown” concept. It doesn’t follow a formula — the movie surprised me several times.
Tricia’s husband Daniel 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’. 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 that might also be connected to other neighborhood disappearances. Soon it becomes clear that the ancient force at work in the tunnel might have set its sights on Callie and Tricia … and that Daniel might be suffering a fate far worse than death in its grasp.
You can rent Absentia here, and you can buy it here.
Just watch it. Any Lovecraftian should really enjoy it.
The Lovecraft eZine 
Sir,
Just saw ABSENTIA.
One of the most haunting films I have seen this year.
Thank you for recommending it.
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Rented ABSENTIA tonight on your recommendation…gonna watch it now! 🙂
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Thanks Mike, glad I am not the only one who didn’t dig Melancholia. I’m not saying it was a bad film, just not my bag. Absentia looks like something I would enjoy, adding it to my monumental To Watch list!
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I’ve got it in my netflix queue, should be the next movie I get.
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If it has your friend and mine Doug Jones in it, I’m there. Thanks for the review!
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Looks great! I’ll watch that at the earliest opportunity…
Side note — does the poster look unintentionally cartoonish to anyone else? The lights in the background make the glowing tagline look something like a thought bubble…
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Ok, just finished watching it. FANTASTIC. It’s always great to see a story so well executed with such a small budget. Thanks for the pointer!
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This looks pretty neat. Thanks for the recommendation. Have you seen YELLOWBRICKROAD yet?
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I’ve thought about it a couple of times, but not yet. Is it good?
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I enjoyed YELLOWBRICK road… it has a nice Thomas Ligotti/ Robert Chambers vibe… but some folks hated the ending… of course when it comes to horror endings are the hardest part.
I am also keeping an eye out for THE CORRIDOR…
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Melancholia isn’t a Lovecraftian film. It’s a meditation on the depressed reacting to disaster. Sure, they’re both bleak, but von Trier tends to interpret interpersonal issues as possessed of true horror, and so cosmic horror, almost by necessity, must be played with flat affect to compensate.
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Ill definitely give this a try! Thanks!
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I’ll definitely give this a try! Really enjoyed the two other films my husband and I watched based on your posts about them!
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