Day 22: The Roost (2005)

The Roost (2005)
Starring: Tom Noonan, Wil Horneff, Vanessa Horneff, Karl Jacob
Category: new classic (I guess)
Plot Tags: monster, zombie, stranded and in peril
Original release: March 2005
Format viewed: DVD rental from Vulcan, of course
Directed by: Ti West
Written by: Ti West
Distributed by: unsure - DIY I think

So Ti West is easily one of my favorite directors in the scary movie genre'. "House of the Devil" and "The Innkeepers" are just wonderful works that play so well against expectation that you don't realize how unnerved you really are until you're already way deep into it. Especially in the case of "House of the Devil" where I successfully scared the crap out of myself walking past a mirror downstairs in my house. One forgets mirrors reflect things they are placed in front of, and in that case, it was my own silly self that scared my own silly self. Getting off track, basically what I'm saying is that I love his filming style and the way he puts together stories. There is a 'throwback' aspect to it that relies just as much on what is shown as it does on what you think about during and after watching his films. I admire him greatly for it.

However, The Roost is a somewhat silly and confusing exercise in throwback film making back to the road breakdown, attack of the -blank- monsters type of stuff from the 70s and 80s. Most of these were relegated to late night local TV access shows and, seeming to understand this, West has a little intro at the beginning of the film done by none other than the great Tom Noonan. Beyond that little intro thing though, the fun kind of slowly seeps out. The story basically surrounds four friends (boyfriend, girlfriend, a dude and another guy) heading to a friend's wedding. Their car craps out in the middle of nowhere and after venturing around trying to find somewhere to get help, they happen upon a farmhouse and big barn where things start to go screwy. We are already aware of the location, however, because at the start of the movie we see an elderly couple seem to be attacked by some unseen creature when they venture into said barn.

Anyway, our group of people are having that age old phone issue whilst in the middle of nowhere and since no one seems to be home at the farmhouse, they start to bicker about what to do, who should go where etc. This is where some of the issues in this film start to come out. For one, my understanding is that they worked a lot of these scenes (if not all of them) as improv without a full structured script. The bickering becomes so very annoying very quickly because (at least for me) they reminded me of improv exercises in theatre and how utterly repetitive and lame they are. So this started to get on my nerves quickly. Now, there are many 'mumblecore' type movies that I quite like, The Puffy Chair, Cold Weather etc etc so I'm not completely closed off to the style but in this case, just grates on me. The budget is clearly small but that would've been forgiven with a quasi good script.

So pretty soon we're introduced to the fact that there are big bloodthirsty vampire bats in the barn whose bites seem to turn people into zombies of some form or fashion. I think. It isn't 100% clear exactly. The group dwindles, there are epic confrontations with the bats, the zombie people and then once we think part of our group survives...well, sufficed to say, if we cared more about these people then the last part of the film would impact more. I kept thinking about the film Cabin Fever (Ti West actually directed the sequel) where this unseen virus infects a group of campers and causes them to slowly fall apart, literally. One of the many reasons why that film is so damned good is that we care for each of them in a different way, so the slow, steady decline and demise is very important, if not emotional. In this one, I figure the bats can have 'em.



Day 21: Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange
Category: Classic
Plot Tags: Universal Monsters, comedy/scary
Original release: June 1948
Format viewed: Alamo Drafthouse - Kids club screening
Directed by: Charles Barton
Written by: Robert Lees, John Grant
Distributed by: Universal Studios

I was very confused to learn this film was released to theatres in June, 1948. Did studios not take advantage of theme specific movies and place them on/around the holiday? A lot of Christmas films releasing in July? Anyway, thought that was odd. I got to see this (with Conlin, of course) at the monthly kids club screening at Alamo Drafthouse. I think the last time I saw it was at least 20+ years ago and might've been around the same age Conlin is now. Be that as it may or not may, this film is fun silliness.

The story centers around two men (Abbott and Costello) working at a railway baggage department. They receive a call from London from a man (Lon Cheney) calling to warn them that two packages they are going to receive should not be delivered to their owner - a museum of the weird type guy who is VERY interested in making sure the contents are undisturbed. He goes so far as to have an agent from the insurance company there to inspect the boxes. Before he can explain why, Cheney transforms into the wolfman and the line goes dead. They go on about their business. They deliver the packages to the museum and have a series of hilarious 'one guy can see something but the other guy never sees it' type bits with Dracula (Lugosi). That is one thing to keep in mind, movies like this draw their humor from the vaudeville type setups and punchline jokes from well before talking films. The audience is always in on the joke, but people in the scenes really aren't. The story progresses and our two heroes are drawn into this odd plot hatched by this doctor lady and Dracula (again, for no real understandable reason).

What makes this one a fun, silly little 70 minute diversion is the sheer goofiness of the script. On paper, the concept of Dracula shipping himself to America along with Frankenstein's monster to revive him and replace his brain with a pliable one (two guesses as to who that might be) is very flimsy. They never really explain his motivation for doing any of this beyond working with this doctor lady who is in on it (for some reason). Beyond that framework of a plot, they basically drift from one setpiece to the next with a lot of mugging for the camera. Unlike Will Farrell type-mugging though, Abbott and Costello seem to make it classy. The sideplot of two women all smitten with Costello is very amusing and the puns fly fast and goofy. It is always a joy to watch Lon Chaney and Bela Lugosi in anything, so that is an added bonus - really, this one works well because it absolutely doesn't take itself seriously but has the presence of mind to care about the end product. Fun all around and appropriate for all ages.

Day 20: Bajo La Sal (Under the Salt) (2008)

Bajo La Sal (Under the Salt) (2008)

Starring: Humberto Zurita, Plutarco Haza, Richardo Polanco, Moises Arizmendi, Blanca Guerra, Damayanti Quintanar

Category: , Favorite, new classic, foreign 

Plot Tags: murder mystery, supernatural

Original release: October 2008 (Mexico)

Format viewed: DVD - own collection

Directed by: Mario Munoz

Written by: Angel Pulido, Mario Munoz

Distributed by: Peliculas Imaginarias, Warner Bros. Mexico

This film is another reason why I wanted to go forward and attempt this horror movie project for October. I originally saw this back a few years ago and got my hands on a copy and have watched it a few times since. There are times where the story itself or the twist and turns and reveals of the mysteries and all that don't have to be super crafty. Sometimes the story can be standard and straight forward and still do a simply remarkable job of working without being completely unseen before or be way clever. That is the case with Bajo La Sal, as it is (from a plot standpoint) your standard serial killer mystery, procedural type story. These are great because they put you on the edge of your seat, give you scenes to sweat out and try to determine who the killer is etc and have it wrapped by the end. This is a good thing - what you see is what you get. However, the difference between a color-by-numbers type films of area and a film like Bajo La Sal is the execution. This film looks remarkable, feels original, is so well acted and is interesting to the final frame without going for the huge twist gimmicks. 

The story centers around a small Mexican town that exists by and large because of a large salt mine on the outskirts. The mine is enormous and quite impressive to look at from the opening sequences and throughout the film. A body is discovered during the mining process one morning and, because of other murders in the area, is linked and an outside detective is brought in to sort it out. At the same time, the story also focuses on a teenage boy and his father who run the local mortuary. The boy's mother has recently died and the relationship between the boy and his father is one of distance, misunderstanding and sadness over the mother's loss. The boy is a huge horror movie fan and constructs reenactments of scenes from horror movies in stop motion in his room and films them. These 'films' are just breathtaking in their execution and style but, at least to me, not done in a way that would make you doubt that he made them. Not unlike the kid films in Super 8, these are crude to a point and do not force you to suspend disbelief that he makes them. Because of his demeanor and interests, the focus at one point of the story is on him as a suspect. 

As the story progresses, the detective (played amazingly well by Humberto Zurita) starts to unravel a mystery surrounding the local Catholic school, a tragedy there and connections between the victims of the murders and the school and towns past. The  detective and the boy never 'team up' though to solve the thing together and this was something I admired greatly. So often in murder mystery stories there are unlikely teamings of characters that stretch the laws of logic. This story never does that and it makes the whole thing play more real. Similarly, the detective and the boy both have shortcomings that play into the story but never dive head long into that whole 'seeking redemption' or 'underdog makes good' kind of baloney that often happens. Again, this was a choice that I thought really set the story apart from so many others in that it made our main characters sympathetic but sympathetic because they are well written, smart characters and not because of a a+b=c type setup done 1000 times before. 

I cannot say enough about how beautifully this film is made - from the set locations to the filming style and all the rest - it is often like a moving painting versus a film. The relationship between the boy and his father is played to such a sharp point that big long speeches aren't needed to convey the sadness and disconnect that exists there. Similarly, events in the detective's past are brought into the story but not in a cliche' way at all - they are a part of who he is. While the film does have its disturbing imagery and a couple of jolting moments, it is overall more easy to access for the average viewer not crazily into scary movies. It was one of my favorite movies the year I saw it and is most certainly a favorite upon repeat viewings since. Very worth seeing. 

Day 19: Maximum Overdrive (1986)

Maximum Overdrive (1986)

Starring: Emelio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Laura Harrington, Yeardley Smith, Frankie Faison, Giancarlo Esposito

Category: new classic ( I guess)

Plot Tags: attack of the -blank-, survival, disaster event

Original release: July 1986

Format viewed: DVD rental from Vulcan of course

Directed by: Stephen King

Written by: Stephen King

Distributed by: De Laurentiis Entertainment Group

One of the great, confusions of life as a horror film/subject matter person is the general lousy nature of most Stephen King adaptations into film/TV. For whatever reason, his stories hit a rough road when it comes to making the transition and more often than not, they are goofy or unscary and in some cases really annoying. The Green Mile, Stand By Me, The Dark Half and a couple others are the only exceptions I can think of off the top of my head. Misery is another one and Pet Cemetery (not any of the sequels) would be included in that group. 

Sadly, Maximum Overdrive is not one of them, despite being directed by the man himself. Now, that is not to say it isn't fun, but by and large the pacing is all over the map, the progression of relationships etc make no sense and the overall dread of the event is undercut by the thought that many if not all of the mishaps that happen could be easily avoided. The basic story is that earth passes through the tail of a comet and the dust or electromagnetic something or other or some other nonsense is messing with all the machines on the planet, turning them murderous. When this is most effective is when the person doesn't know what is happening and not acting like an idiot. Unfortunately, about 80 to 90 percent of the time, people offed by machines or cars or whatever else are acting so stupid and unaware that their demise isn't shocking so much as just obvious. Case in point, the fantastic Giancarlo Esposito (Nothing to Lose, Breaking Bad) has a bit role as a guy in a truck stop arcade. All of the machines are going goofy and spitting out money and all else. Instead of seeing this as a sign of danger and getting out of there, he loads his pockets with money and packs of cigarettes. Okay, fine. But then one of the games starts showing interesting imagery and for some reason he goes over to play it and is electrocuted. Now you've just stolen some money and other items but can be sidetracked from your exit by pretty colors. Riiiight. This happens a lot, the waitress cut on the arm by an automatic knife/saw thing that TURNED ITSELF ON AND REPOSITIONED ITSELF NEXT TO HER ARM (I for one certainly wouldn't notice a buzzing electric saw moving ever closer to my arm), The draw bridge resetting itself and raising with people on it all the while making all manner of noise in the control room that the two guys there seem completely oblivious to. etc etc etc. 

The other glaringly ridiculous thing is the romantic relationship between Emilio Estevez' character and a hitchhiking girl brought into the truck stop/restaurant he works in. Right in the midst of this mess they seemingly have time to get to know each other, hop into bed and create all manner of closeness between them. This all happens in about a 20 minute span. I get that adventure type movies require (by law I assume) the lead have a girl waiting in the wings but in this case, it was just plain dumb. So as you might've guessed, machines keep attacking people, our group gets trapped in the truck stop by a herd of semi trucks and fight back with the sizable arsenal the truck stop owner seems to have collected. The convenience level is annoying because, yes, many people collect guns but many people also collect porcelain figurines or bottle caps or stamps or whatever else. How this truck stop owner has enough explosives and guns to outfit an entire army is never really explained. 

Okay, so bottom line, there are some fun scenes in the thing and some level of dumb fun to be had. However, the directing is really choppy, nearly nothing is motivated by actual thought and by the end of it you're kind of rooting for the semi trucks, or at least I was. 

Day 18: Silent Hill: Revelations (2012)

Silent Hill: Revelation 3D (2012)

Starring: Adelaide Clemens, Kit Harington, Deborah Kara Unger, Martin Donovan, Malcolm McDowell, Carrie-Anne Moss, Sean Bean

Category: new

Plot Tags: alternate world, kidnapping (kinda), video game adaptation

Original release: October 26th, 2012

Format viewed: Pre-screening via Ain't It Cool News

Directed by: Michael Bassett

Written by: Michael Bassett

Distributed by: Open Road Films, Lionsgate

Through Harry Knowles and the good folks at Ain't It Cool News, I was able to attend a prescreening Thursday night of Silent Hill: Revelations 3D prior to its release. I wouldn't claim to be a huge fan of the first film but I loved the PSP version of the game and was interested in the story overall (the mythology if you will) so I was excited to be included in this type of screening. Upon arrival I was greeted by two nurses all dressed up in bloody attire which was impressive, but considering they still had faces, not all the way game-style. It was 3D too so I was given glasses and then scanned with a metal detector (for some reason) prior to entry. In the theatre there were people dressed in costumes and others playing the new game on the movie screen. This was quite cool except for the fact that whomever was playing hadn't worked out the perspective of the character so she spent most of the time wandering the halls of the sanitarium looking as though she was trying to smell her shoulder. 

After a costume contest, it was time to start the film. There were three little things telling you to put on your glasses. I was annoyed by this, thinking you'd have to be blind not to know at this point to put them on. Then it occurred to me that, if blind, you wouldn't get much out of a 3D movie. Slight chuckle. And onto the movie itself. Having the opening set into the main street of Silent Hill with the ash/snow looking stuff fluttering around was awfully neat. This is one of the more unnerving effects in the game, lulling you into a false sense of calm prior to crap careening towards a nearby fan. In this case however, they revert to a dream within a dream gimmick to set up that our main character Heather (Adelaide Clemens - who did a fine job with the script she had to work with) and her father Christopher (Sean Bean) are constantly moving to evade police. She thinks this is because of a murder that happened years ago, but in fact it is more to stay a step ahead of evil forces that seem to be after them. The trouble is that she keeps having dreams and seeing visions of freaky stuff that lead her to a realization that there is this alternate world (Silent Hill) where these things seem to come from. Now I could go on for pages and pages about the rest of the story but the gist is that Heather is the remainder of the rest of what was good in the girl taken in the first film. I think - I can't 100% remember but it basically boils down to the bad creatures in Silent Hill wanting her back to give the evil girl power but this cult of white haired weirdos wanting to kill her to keep that from happening. Or something along those lines. Again, to even come close to trying to explain the story would take for freaking ever and honestly, it isn't really worth the effort. 

I was reminded of a thing John Waters once said about his mom. She and his father would come to screenings of some of his films and if you know anything about his films they aren't the typical fare for retired age middle America (via Baltimore) types. Anyway, his mom (grasping at a way to not be negative) would say 'well goodness, I don't know where they find the energy.' This is kind of what I feel like for this film overall. On the one hand, a lot of the visuals are really remarkable (Pyramidhead, the freaky nurses and the mannequin monster in particular) and how much the locations looked just like they did in the game are just remarkable, but on the other hand, my understanding of film making is that one should have a more or less serviceable script to use in making of said film. The actors all do fine, in particular Sean Bean and Adelaide Clemens, but often they are left to look a bit silly with very uninspired writing and setup scenes that deflate the scene they are there to set up. It's as if Akiva Goldsman had the weekend off and decided to hash out a horror script with a teenage girl troupe and a couple llamas for dictation. So many bad dialogue choices. Again, this takes a lot of suspense out of things when you're too busy rolling your eyes back into place after being hit with another stinker. This is a shame because the tension of the thing in parts could have been made all the better with a sharper, more dynamic script. 

One last thing I'll say. Carrie-Anne Moss is great. She was just grand in the Matrix films and I loved that she was in one of my more favorite zombie meets Lassie type films, Fido, but seriously, casting her as the evil mother/demon/white haired lady was completely distracting. Every scene she was in was completely useless because she stuck out like a sore thumb. Again, she is great, but not in that role. 

Overall, I was very glad and happy to be included in the screening via Harry and AICN and hope to get to go to more events. But, while this could have been a Cronenberg level brain freak out of a story, it ended up being very confusing a bunch of the time (and I knew the damned backstory) and devoid of suspense by and large and overall was an exhibit on how to make neat creatures and give them very little to do. 

Day 17: Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2 (1987)

Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2 (1987)
Starring: Michael Ironside, Wendy Lyon, Louis Ferreira, Richard Monette
Category: (I guess) new classic, boxes that scared me as a kid
Plot Tags: possession, revenge, goofy
Original release: October 1987
Format viewed: DVD - rented from Vulcan of course
Directed by: Bruce Pittman
Written by: Ron Oliver
Produced by: Peter R Simpson
Distributed by: Norstar Releasing

So my plan was to watch the original Prom Night (1980 with Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Neilsen) and then this one in succession. However, it is October and playoff and World Series baseball is played in October so time management has become a minor issue. Sleep being the primary issue really. Mainly because I keep falling my ass asleep on the couch towards the end of, or right after movies end. It is a confounding thing to wake up on the couch in the middle of the night and wonder if you actually finished Maximum Overdrive or not. I guess it's a universal problem. Getting off track, so that was my plan but I settled for just sticking with the one that fit into the 'scary VHS box group'. I'm not 100% on why it was that this one freaked me out beyond the fact she is looking right freaking at you! Yeesh. Plus the back, as I recall, is all manner of ucky. Anyway, it fits.

This is a goofy movie. It is legitimately tense in a couple parts but from the onset you know what will happen in the next scene. This is the thing with movies about possession. You know that it ramps up bit by bit until the stuff hits the proverbial fan. There are few examples of a possession movie that involves a demon or entity that decides mid movie that he'd rather go play a round of golf or shop for curtains and just leaves everyone alone. So, once you get the gist of what is going on, the next step or five steps are pretty much layed out. However, this might then explain the abject strangeness of many of the scenes. This strangeness comes from the rhythm of them, or just odd stuff that happens but I get this feeling that because of the relatively cookie-cutter map of the script they opted to amp up the odd.

The story is basically this, in 1957 a harlot/hussy type character (introduced initially in a church confessional) is at the senior prom with her date Bill (played later by Michael Ironside - Top Gun, Total Recall) and, upon sending him off for punch, sneaks off behind the stage for a roll in the hay with Buddy. Upon discovering this, Bill is a bit put out and storms off. He discovers two guys working on a stink bomb in the bathroom but before they finish they have to abandon it in the trash can before an incoming teacher can discover it. Bill takes it and heads up onto the scaffolding above the stage. Mary Lou is crowned Prom Queen and while she accepts her crown, Bill throws the stink bomb down onto the stage. Instead of blowing up and causing a stink, it catches her dress on fire and burns her alive - not before she sees it was him that did it. Buddy starts to run towards her with his jacket to help put out the flame but backs away. She dies.

Fast forward to today and we're introduced to Vicki, a seemingly nice girl with friends at the school, a nice dad, an overbearing religious mom type character. Why? Who really knows. They dress in 80s clothes, she dresses like an extra in Inherit the Wind. Anyway, discussing the prom and not being able to buy a dress, Vicki's friend suggests checking out the prop room for something. She does and happens upon an old trunk with Mary Lou's dress, crown, sash and other assorted stuff. This unleashes her spirit - I think. From this point forward many things make no damned sense. The initial impression is that putting on the dress or clothing allows her spirit to take over the person, but almost nearly immediately, Vicki's friend is left alone in the art room with Mary Lou's crown and cape and doesn't actually put them on but is set upon, attacked and ultimately hung from the light fixture. People assume this is a suicide because it was revealed she was pregnant. Now, I would have known this ahead of time but the sound mastering in the 'reveal' scene for this was so darn lousy that after rewinding twice I just gave up. Okay, so back to when things stop making any amount of freaking sense. If Mary Lou's spirit can just up and fling a girl around a room, control objects and cause all manner of craziness, why on earth does she need to inhabit a person's body? Seems like a wholy unnessessary step in the process of terrorizing a bunch of people. Well anyway...

Poor Vicki is beset by weird visions involving stuff in gym class, stuff with the cheerleader jerk character and other random stuff - to the point where the rocking horse in her room goes all red eyed and talks - well, sort of talks. Kind of just goes 'blllleeehhh' or something like that. These things continue until Vicki is completely taken over and starts the killing bit in earnest. Some creative ones here (crushing someone in a locker, electrocution via a power cord) but again, none of this stuff needed to be done while inhabiting someone! Makes no damned sense. We get to the final act and Bill (now the school principal) tries to intervene and stop everything. I realize now that the actress who played Mary Lou looks a ton like Regina Spektor - sheeesh, that has been driving me nuts since last night. a bunch of people get killed (sadly, the school cheerleader jerk gets it in a very uninspiring way - disappointed by that) and we careen into the last of the movie. There are a couple twists there towards the end but, unless you plan to sit down and watch all four at once, the continuation of the story isn't all that critical.

Overall, I was hoping for more an abject massacre of a thing (a la Dead Alive) but instead you get a few good set pieces, some goofy-ass dialogue and puns and a lot of roundly confusing things. I guess all in all it was a fun way to spend an hour and a half but there certainly was a chance to make it a cult classic that they missed.

Day 16: Absentia (2011)

Absentia (2011)
Starring: Katie Parker, Courtney Bell, David Levine, Justin Gordon, Morgan Peter Brown, James Flanagan,
Scott Graham, Doug Jones
Category: New, favorite
Plot Tags: abduction, supernatural, fairy tale
Original release: March, 2011
Format viewed: DVD - rented from Vulcan of course
Directed by: Mike Flanagan
Written by: Mike Flanagan
Produced by: Morgan Peter Brown, Mike Flanagan, Justin Gordon, Joe Wicker
Studio: Fallback Plan Productions
Distributed by: Phase 4 Films

The film Absentia is one of the reasons I got to thinking about doing this writing and reviewing project in the first place. I saw this the first time this spring (and three times since) and it is most certainly one of my favorite films (of any kind) this year. When you combine sincere storytelling, interest in characters' bonds and development, original ideas and strong performances you get a film that exceeds expectations and frustrates at the same time. Frustrates because this is the kind of film that deserves larger audiences and more notoriety as opposed to many/much schlock drifting around a good portion of the time. This comes with a couple caveats but they aren't big ones. Primarily, this is hyper low budget so if you're expecting huge splashy CGI effects, you won't get them. There are a fair amount of jolts and a general errie-ness that amps up the heartbeat for long stretches but this is not achieved by piles of big time effects. Honestly, I couldn't imagine it with all that stuff. Also, the way it is filmed, you aren't going to get a ton of depth that you'd get with film film. I understand that this is a budgetary issue and I respect that you get the most out of what you can use but I felt in a few scenes where the feel of film would add more to the overall deal. That's it, those are my caveats.

The film centers around the story of two sisters, a pregnant Tricia (Courtney Palm) and Callie (the lovely Katie Parker) reuniting over a traumatic event. Tricia's husband (played remarkably well by Morgan Peter Brown - this gives nothing away, he is in a bunch of the movie) has been missing for seven years. The film opens with Tricia removing tattered 'missing' signs for her husband and replacing them on power poles around her neighborhood. We then meet her sister Callie (Katie Parker) who is there to help Tricia work through the filing paperwork for declaring her husband dead by absentia after the length of time he was missing. In addition to this, her pregnancy has come from a relationship with the detective that originally worked her husband's missing person case. Anyway, back to Callie's arrival - it is made clear pretty early on that she has been a wayward soul in every sense of the word - driving from halfway house to rehab center to this and that and apparently has found a good bit of religion in the process of getting sober. What is funny about that is that she still seems like who she was as a person/personality, just with a more grounded sense of things thanks to rehab and God.

As we are meeting the two women, getting a feel for their relationship etc, we start to see haunting and terrifying visions of Tricia's missing husband as they grow closer to packing the house up and signing all the paperwork. These visions come when she is awake and asleep and represent some of the early chills in the film. Callie takes a run and goes running through a tunnel near Tricia's house. This tunnel (a real place/thing in this neighborhood) is so damned freaky in and of itself that they didn't need to do much to make it foreboding thing it is. Upon her run back, Callie comes upon a badly beaten up, pale looking guy (Doug Jones - Hellboy films) who seems overjoyed and also scared that she can see him. He starts to offer to trade, rambling about his boy etc and tries to reach into his pocket for 'trade'. Callie gets away from him and back to the house where she explains to her sister that this 'Christian thing' means you have to reach back to help and she brings a tupperware of dinner leftovers to the tunnel but cannot find him. She leaves it there and the next day, upon return to the house after her jog, she is greeted with a pile of metal trinkets, keys and stuff all wired together in a heap on the doorstep. She tries to take it back to the tunnel but is advised against it by a man walking by. 'You can't return it'.

Soon after this, Callie and Tricia are in the lawyers office signing the paperwork to declare Daniel (Tricia's husband) dead in absentia and she sees yet another scary vision of him. ((As an aside, one of the reasons I absolutely loved the way they handled these visions is that they are startling and all, but not in a super-jump scare type of way. They startle you but there is a lack of menace so much as a presence that maybe isn't as easily explained as guilt)). They come back home and Callie recommends Tricia go out on a date and pushes her in that direction. She gets ready to go, the detective guy shows up and upon leaving they spot Daniel out in the street. Initially Tricia thinks it is a vision but the detective guy sees him too. Immediately the police are rousted up and set upon the case to try to figure out where he has been and who took him etc. As this is going on, there is a growing disturbance that is making all manner of issue for Daniel and the sisters which seems like it is coming to get him back. All the while you have Callie's drug past creeping back on her and the relationship between Tricia and the detective guy straining under all of this.

Things continue to amp up and a series of scary events and nerve wrangling things twist and turn to bring what happened to Daniel and what is happening to all of them now to a head. I feel like none of this works without the fully realized relationships the characters have and the care we as the audience have for them. With those things in place, the suspense of the final act is greater because of the investment the viewer has and as everything falls into place and it all comes together, the tragedy of it is felt more honestly and fully. I cannot say enough how much the craft of this film and the work put into the ground level of it makes the whole of the rest of it that much better. With stereotype cardboard cut outs or standard fill in victims or any of that, none of the emotional and tragic turns the story takes would mean a whole lot. But on the whole, Mike Flanagan, Morgan Peter Brown and company have made what I consider to be a unique and wholly remarkable film that I appreciate even more now than I did the first time I saw it. My hope is that they will continue to build on their full success of Absentia and bring the same full circle storytelling and character development to their future projects because in my mind, it is how it's done.