What You Don't Know Can Definitely Hurt You

To an optimistic horror fan, there is nothing more exciting than seeing a new theatrically released film but an up-and-coming director that is actually good. We can revisit our classics anytime our hearts start to bleed, but catching a whiff of new talent reminds us that the genre is far from dead.

I felt that way after watching Mike Flanagan's Oculus (for more on that, head over to my podcast, The Feminine Critique for Episode 41). At first glance, this seemed to be a simple evil mirror movie and while I don't  necessarily have a problem with those (see: Candyman, Poltergeist III) such a concept didn't exactly rock my world. But for those who have seen Oculus, you know that it's a far deeper, sadder story about a family torn apart by abuse. I was curious to see if his first full-length film had the same skill.

Quick Plot: Seven years ago, Tricia's husband Daniel vanished leaving no trace behind. Whether he's dead, amnesiac, or derelict, Tricia has finally decided to officially move on by legally declaring him dead by absentia. She's also seven months pregnant with another man's baby and slowly trying to move out of a pretty but poverty-ridden neighborhood in sunny California.

To help out, Tricia's younger sister Callie comes to visit. Callie has her own baggage, having spent several years as a drug-addicted runaway before cleaning up her act and finding God (and a jogging routine). 

Both sisters experience some mysterious unpleasantness as Daniel's death certificate looms. For Tricia, her guilt at writing off her husband has caused terrible nightmares and the occasional day vision of a tortured Daniel trying to harm her. Callie has what seems like more physically sound issues when she bumps into a creepy homeless man in the ominous nearby tunnel pass.

The fact that he's played by perennial genre superstar Doug Jones is obviously a tip-off that something is not right.

To go into any more detail of Absentia may rob the viewer of the right first-time experience, so I'm about to get spoilery. For those who prefer to protect their movie chastity, know that I liked but didn't love Absentia. It's a solid recommend without the enthusiasm of my thoughts on Oculus.

Let's get down to it:

One of the strongest aspects of Absentia is how it sets up a handful of mysteries at its onset. In addition to the BIG question of Daniel’s whereabouts, there’s the identity of Tricia’s baby daddy, the contents of Callie’s box, and the question of the mystery’s man’s “trade” all in the air, as if the film is one giant puzzle composed of smaller ones. Considering we spend a good 45 minutes or so wondering about Daniel’s fate, these added questions (some answered faster than others) helps to further add to the tense uncertainty in the full narrative. 

The downside is that it doesn't all pay off in a way that will satisfy most viewers. Initially, I was somewhat let down by the mystery still left at the end of the film, but as a few days have passed, I've found myself reconsidering. We don't fully understand what has been menacing these characters, nor we do learn the fate of any of our leads. It's frustrating to one extent, but when you think back to Tricia's speech to Callie early in the film, it's also rather poetic. For seven years, she spun different scenarios for Daniel. Now, that fate has passed to her new lover.

Much like Oculus, Absentia is a far richer film than it seems at first glance. Where Oculus took a simple "evil object" story and used it to explore the nature of a child growing up in an abusive home, Absentia does something similar with the limitations of how much we can ever really know a person. It's not quite as sharp as Flanagan's next bigger budgeted film, but it clearly demonstrates the director as someone with a rather fascinating depth. In the meantime, it’s also a rather haunting little watch.

High Points

Not only does Absentia feature genuinely strong performances, but it gets massive bonus points for getting them from people that look like real human beings

There's a lot to commend in Flanagan's screenplay dialog, which gives us a clear picture of the events without resorting to forced exposition

Low Points

That darn REC-inspired cover art

Lessons Learned

In real life, Doug Jones seems like an insanely delightful, enthusiastic, and talented performer. But if you're ever in a movie with him, it's probably best to avoid his presence at all times. Nothing good ever comes out of it

But seriously, this is another reminder that Doug Jones should be king of all things

Rent/Bury/Buy

Absentia is departing its comfy Netflix Instant Watch spot, but it's still well worth sitting down with in old-fashioned physical media form if that's what you're left with. This isn't a perfect film, but it's a strong, unnerving, and new story told with great skill by a man fast shaping up to be The Next Best Thing in modern horror. 

Stop Picking At It!

Well that was weird.

Recently, I watched a chilling little Netflix streamer called Dark Touch. You'll have to wait until February's Attack of the Shorties for the full review, but I'll tell you now that I found it fairly great. On the surface, it was an easy killer kid film (my favorite kind) but much like the recent WWE released Oculus, the film proved to be an incredibly sad metaphor for child abuse. With that in mind, I was happy to seek out more films from director Marina de Van.

Quick Plot: Esther (played by the writer/director herself) is an attractive middle class young woman quickly rising through the corporate ranks at her marketing job and about to buy an apartment with her handsome, successful boyfriend. Life's just a bowl of cherries, or, as we're in France, a carton of cigarettes.

One night at the kind of parties French films like this one and Irreversible have led me to believe are daily occasions for attractive Europeans, Esther accidentally cuts her leg on some metal. Thinking nothing of it, she continues to dance and drink the night away, only realizing much later the true severity of the wound. A doctor urges her to get surgery, but for no clear reason, she decides to let it heal on its own.

Kind of.

Before you could open a bottle of red wine, Esther finds herself rather fascinated by her bloody infection. She cuts it open, chews at it, pokes at it, shreds it in order to tan what can be saved--

Yeah. Ew.

Throughout all of this self-mutilation, Esther continues her 'real' life, occasionally with disastrous results. A work dinner with important clients goes south quickly when Esther, after a few glugs of wine, begins to see her arm as being dislocated from her body. It's a fascinating and much-discussed scene that does a surreal job of contrasting this insane body horror with the dull bourgeois conversation held amongst professionals unwilling to fully acknowledge whatever madness might be around them. 

As director, writer, and star, Marina de Van truly gives her all in In My Skin. The term ‘brave’ performance usually just refers to an attractive actress playing a scene naked or without makeup, but what Van does is far more complicated and yes, brave. Esther isn’t fun or even likable, per say. Van puts a distance in her character that deliberately feels cold and almost off-putting. It’s not that we don’t like Esther: it’s more that we, like her fiance, can’t seem to really know her.

In My Skin calls to mind the works of David Cronenberg, a similarly experimental filmmaker whose fascination with the human body has led to some of the genre’s most memorably twisted moments. In My Skin isn’t quite as fulfilling as something like Videodrome, but it’s a strangely fascinating tale that leaves a definite mark on the viewer. I don’t think it’s for every horror fan and I haven’t fully reconciled what it was trying to do, but it’s the kind of film that will challenge you well after its final does of gore.

High Points

At first, I almost felt like the blankness of Esther was  something negative. Why not give us a little more of pre-cut Esther so we get to know and see how far she falls. By the end of the film, however, I realized how purposeful it was for Esther to be utterly ordinary and inaccessible. Any shading on her personality would skew one’s interpretation of what it all means

Low Points

That being said, I’m still not entirely sure what it all means. But I might just be a dumb ol’ Amerrkan

Lessons Learned

Potassium alum is the secret to tanning human skin

How I long to say "go to the doctor when you gash open your leg and find yourself bleeding profusely"...

And yet, dear reader, how can I espouse such a simple direction when time and time again, I find myself slicing a chunk of my finger off when cutting bread, only to power through the blood loss in order to finish dinner? With my multiple unnecessary scars, I say: I am in no position to give doctoral advice on such issues as this

Rent/Bury/Buy

Marina de Van is probably one of the most interesting, yet under the radar new voices in modern horror. I haven’t fully wrapped my head around In My Skin, but I loved the challenge of it and will certainly revisit it in the future. This is an unusual spin on body horror that might not be immediately satisfying, but is certainly worth the effort. It will stick with you.

Would You Like To Hear More?

OF COURSE YOU WOULD!

There's really never not a good time to talk about Starship Troopers, Paul Verhoeven's masterpiece of satire, action, and vaginal faced brain bugs sucking Patrick Muldoon's innards out of his soap star dreamface.

I bring up the fourth best film of all time (although all-time best use of ex-90210 cast members) not just because it's Friday, but more because you can hear me discuss it with From the Depth's of DVD Hell's great Elwood Jones over at the debut episode of his podcast Mad, Bad, and Downright Strange.  

And that's not all!

My husband and I took a break from watching Jeopardy! and Murder, She Wrote to record a special guest episode of Married With Clickers, one of my favorite film podcasts out on the interwaves. The topic? 

Only one of the most underrated horror comedies of all time. You can head here to hear the episode. While you're there, be sure to check out the other great offerings of horror reviews for the month. 

Hold on tight! One more...

If you haven't been listening to my regular podcast, The Feminine Critique, then our last episode might bring you back in the fold. My partner in crime Christine and I tackled Mike Flanagan's recent WWE produced (???, seriously) hit Oculus. It's a much stronger and deeper film than its marketing may have suggested. We have lots to say on the matter. 

And now, because I love you, I shall exit with a Clancy Brown slideshow:

Yup. That settles everything.