Absentia (2011).
Tricia's husband has been missing for seven years, now with him about to be declared dead in absentia, her sister Callie moves in to offer emotional support. Tricia begins to suffer terrible visions and Callie is drawn to an ominous underpass nearby.
Absentia is one of those films that just gets better and better as it goes along. Its a film populated by seemingly real characters, with totally natural behavioral characteristics. The horror really works, coming not from crashing jump scares but those little glimpses from the corner of your eye. Because of this the films builds from an unnerving watch to a dark, disturbing nightmare situation. Its a film with no real explanation as to what we are actually seeing on screen. A few theories are thrown at us but nothing totally concrete allowing the viewer to make up their own mind as to how and why events unfolded.
Absentia is a mature, adult horror film, a film practically devoid of splatter. The film has an eerie atmosphere more often felt in all the very best Gothic horror films of the sixties and seventies, yet the vast urban sprawl of Los Angeles' suburbs is a total contrast. Augmenting this atmosphere is a fascinating, brooding, ambient score which really complements the feeling of inevitable dread.
To me Absentia is indie horror at its very best. Horror that doesn't follow any formula. Highly recommended.
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