Absentia

My rating: 7/10 Something took her husband away but what? It took him to a place we think, but where? These are some of the hypotheticals the viewer is asked to contemplate in this film. Are they answered? I’d say yes. Will many make it through to the end I say some brave and patient ones will.

R | 1h 27min | Drama, Horror, Mystery | 11 April 2013 (Argentina)

A woman and her sister begin to link a mysterious tunnel to a series of disappearances, including that of her own husband.
Director: Mike Flanagan
Writer: Mike Flanagan
Stars: Catherine Parker, Courtney Bell, Dave Levine

Written and directed by “Hush” director Mike Flanagan, this film does a lot on a low budget, $70,000 to be exact. Oculus, Before I Wake, and Gerald’s Game are just three other amazing works he has created for us. This was an early endeavor in 2011. He has skills in making creepy films, I have seen that tested and it’s true. Because it is low budget, this one takes place in limited settings with real life ones like a suburb neighborhood tunnel. Still, he uses all these pieces to weave a creepiness that ends in a satisfying conclusion. The husband has been lost for 7 years. This is the story of what happened to him.

The acting is ok. The two sisters have a good chemistry together. The tunnel works for scares and Flanagan already had some chops at this point with everyday settings to scare you 100% as much as any CGI. It’s a bit of a slough but it takes you somewhere pensive and scary which is definitely a positive aspect in my book when I see a horror film.

7/10

Room

“Room” illustrates a successful movie because it starts and completes a story that leaves you thinking. I thought about deep subjects like what confinement and freedom do to a human mind.

Some plot spoilers follow.

It’s a story about a mother and her 5 year old son who have been abducted my a man who keeps them alive in his shed. They have running water, a bathtub, steady supply of food,  and basic sundries. Except for not ever leaving the room, they are just like a normal mother and son.

Since the boy was born in the room, he is used to it. In fact he refers to it as a living thing by dropping the article and calling it “room.” Room is the only world he has ever known.  There are many psychological issues here that are fascinating to think about.

For a movie to tell such a complicated event as this in such a successful and entertaining way is remarkable. Room made me think about some profound things and that’s why I pick it for best movie of 2015.

Berlin Syndrome

Some crimes are incomprehensible and the audience suspends judgement on how they are presented, are they “real” or not, could they “really happen.” I took issue with a few of those scenes but overall this movie scared the hell out of me.

R | 1h 56min | Drama, Horror, Mystery | 26 May 2017 (USA)

A passionate holiday romance leads to an obsessive relationship, when an Australian photojournalist wakes one morning in a Berlin apartment and is unable to leave.
Director: Cate Shortland
Writers: Shaun Grant (screenplay), Melanie Joosten (novel) | 1 more credit »
Stars: Teresa Palmer, Max Riemelt, Matthias Habich

This director has worked a lot in her career. Unfortunately I am unfamiliar with most the titles. It is interesting this film has a female director as it is an abduction story. In other words, we aren’t getting what a guy writer would think it was like but rather a female putting her head inside the script.

The acting is good. I think the fear was not overplayed. At the same time, I found it hard to believe the victim never thought about grabbing something in the apartment to aid her escape. Most abductors tend to put the victim in a plain empty room. This one brought her right into his living space. It could be psychological chains, I get that. Still, it seemed out of place. It started out better than the middle and end where it dragged on and the ending was not satisfying.

6/10

Youth in Oregon (2016)

A movie of togetherness when a family is forced to circle around a grandpa who has a terminal diagnosis.

1h 45min | Comedy, Drama | 3 February 2017 (USA)

A man is tasked with driving his embittered 80-year-old father-in-law cross country to be legally euthanized in Oregon, while along the way helping him rediscover a reason for living.
Director: Joel David Moore
Writer: Andrew Eisen
Stars: Frank Langella, Billy Crudup, Christina Applegate

The director is known for acting the part of Dr. Spellman in Avatar. I liked the way the actors interact in this film, likely due to the director’s deft hand. I would however liked to have seen some more character development with the grandfather. What is the relationship really like before all this happens? There is some beautiful cinematography and with these actors you’re bound to have a hit.

Frank Langella appears somber in this film and rightly so I suppose. He has learned he is going to die of a weak heart unless he takes a new valve, which will likely kill him anyway. He wants to die with dignity so he is making the pilgrimage to where it’s legal to do so: Oregon. Billy Crudup is his son-in-law and he accompanies him to Oregon. The trip is bittersweet (mostly bitter) as you would imagine. I think people living through euthanasia/assisted suicide issues and/or those interested in the subject will be the biggest fans of this. For lack of character development, it suffered the loss of some points.

6/10

Kill List (2011)

It’s “hurry up and wait” as a shady hit-man and part time family-man weighs his options on a new big payoff job with some unexpected darkness surrounding.

Not Rated | 1h 35min | Crime, Drama, Horror | 2 September 2011 (UK)

Nearly a year after a botched job, a hitman takes a new assignment with the promise of a big payoff for three killings. What starts off as an easy task soon unravels, sending the killer into the heart of darkness.
Director: Ben Wheatley
Writers: Ben Wheatley, Amy Jump
Stars: Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, Harry Simpson

Free Fire and High Rise are two outstanding films by this director, Ben Wheatley. This preceded both and carries a sort of British low-budget charm. Wheatley has made a film for some to identify with in the family relationship present. At the same time, it’s a film we will cringe at because the acts of violence for hire and occultic consequences are unknown to us.

The actors are fine. Nothing extraordinary there and that’s ok because this story is so odd, it sort of awes the watcher all on its own. I did find the pre-job home scenes brutally over-long.

The hit man is hired to kill people on a list. As he does so he realizes there is something much deeper at play. I recently saw “A Dark Song” and enjoyed it quite a bit. The occultic theme is prevalent in this film as well. While I liked the occult aspect in the sense of spookiness, the writing was lacking. I found the beginning scenes dragged on far too long. It took a long time to get to the actual “Kill List.” I can’t recommend this one, though I know many really love it.

5/10