Absentia



Absentia is a 2011 horror film directed by Mike Flanagan.

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.


 * Adult Fear - Much of the film deals with the effect of having a loved one go missing.
 * - It's implied that
 * - What little we know about the thing in the tunnel indicates that it's one of these.
 * Blue and Orange Morality: It's touched upon that the creature is obsessed with trading things, which is presumably why it gave Daniel back and . However, you'll have to figure out the rules on your own.
 * Covers Always Lie - The DVD cover completely misrepresents the film.
 * Eldritch Abomination - The thing in the tunnel.
 * Exact Words -
 * : The monster in the tunnel.
 * Fate Worse Than Death - The apparent fate of those in the grasp of the thing in the tunnel.
 * Hey, It's That Guy! - Doug Jones has a small role.
 * Legally Dead - Tricia's husband Daniel has been declared 'dead in absentia' after missing for seven years. And then he comes back.
 * Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It's left ambiguous as to whether or not the creature is real or if it's just a figment of Callie's acid-induced hallucinations, the fact that she's the only witness to any of these events lending credit to this. However, the movie heavily implies that the monster is real.
 * Nothing Is Scarier - Much of the film is built on this trope.
 * You Have to Believe Me - After Callie witnesses, Tricia doesn't believe her and instead assumes that Callie was just high on drugs.
 * Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It's left ambiguous as to whether or not the creature is real or if it's just a figment of Callie's acid-induced hallucinations, the fact that she's the only witness to any of these events lending credit to this. However, the movie heavily implies that the monster is real.
 * Nothing Is Scarier - Much of the film is built on this trope.
 * You Have to Believe Me - After Callie witnesses, Tricia doesn't believe her and instead assumes that Callie was just high on drugs.