Absentia (2011) Film Locations

Thank you Netflix!

I was on the lookout for a Lovecraftian horror movie. I had finished reading a collection of Laird Barron’s short stories during a visit to Trona Pinnacles and became obsessed with Lovecraftian locations in Southern California. The Pinnacles are on the list.

When I returned home, I researched other Lovecraft or Lovecraft inspired movies that filmed in Southern California. My web research kept bringing up Absentia. And, as an added benefit Netflix was streaming the movie.

Kudos to Mike Flanagan for producing a low budget horror movie that doesn’t become a “slice and dice gorefest”. Also, the movie had been crowdfunded through Kickstarter.
Without giving too much away, Tricia’s (Courtney Bell) husband has been missing for almost 7 years. We watch her in a final round of posting “missing” pamphlets around her Los Angeles neighborhood. She has finally reached a level of acceptance in her life and is working with the city to declare her missing husband dead in absentia. Callie (Katie Parker), her sister, roars in to town to assist in the final processing of the death certificate and help Tricia move. The film starts as an intimate portrayal of two sisters dealing with grief and moving on. Then moves onto a mystery revolving around a menacing tunnel down from the house.

I’m not saying anymore. Watch it. There is a real Lovecraft vibe to the film.

I went out to Glendale to track down the neighborhood and visit the tunnel to see what lies “underneath”.