Starring: Harry Treadaway, Greg Wise, Tom Felton, Ros Leeming
Directed By: Johnny Kevorkian
Written By: Neil Murphy, Johnny Kevorkian
Grade: B+

The Disappeared is a story of ghosts and regret where nothing seems like what it really is. It is really more of a suspenseful drama than a horror movie, but through the slow moving, character driven film we are able to get inside of the main character’s head who is being haunted and becomes desperate to find out the truth. It’s another rare case of a ghost story done right, because it isn’t about trying to get the audience to jump with an image or high pitched sound. The Disappeared creates authentic suspense through a personal and frightening story.

Matthew (Treadaway) arrives back at his flat in London with his father after being treated in a mental help facility. His younger brother, Tom, disappeared when he was supposed to be watching him and no one has seen him sense. Matthew’s guilt was building up and everyone around him labeled him crazy. Now he is home and he doesn’t ever plan on going back there again. Still, Tom’s case isn’t solved and he cannot rest until he knows what really happened. The more questions he asks the more angered his father gets, making him question if he is responsible for Tom’s death. Gangs swarm the town, terrorizing anyone younger or weaker than them. They even claim a local playground for themselves, targeting young children who are defenseless against these gang members. Could they have gotten carried away when messing with Tom?

Soon Matthew begins to hear Tom’s voice and sees him. He doesn’t know how to react to this, but as he doesn’t seem to be going away he realizes that he has to find a way to help him. After meeting his new neighbor, Amy (Leeming), he learns that there might be someone who can give him some answers. There is a psychic in the area who Amy claims is just misunderstood. Matthew is hesitant, but he is desperate to find out the truth. After seeing her, he stops trying to convince everyone around him of his communication with Tom since clearly no one believes him, not even his best friend, Simon (Felton). He follows Tom’s image, but the answer is in such an unlikely place, it might be right in front of him but he just isn’t able to identify it. As Simon’s little sister has gone missing too, his brother’s life might not be the only one at stake.

Henry Treadaway does very well as Matthew. He is scared and lonely, but very determined. Treadaway embodies Matthew’s overwhelming remorse, yet lets us feel for him and trust him completely. Especially as the tension heightens Treadaway’s performance escalates. Greg Wise is very cold and withdrawn as the alcoholic father who blames Matthew constantly for what happen and quite clearly resents him for it. As soon as his son is going through something he sends him away, so he won’t be his problem anymore. He would rather condemn his son than actually listen to him. Tom Felton, most well known as Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films does very well as Simon, Matthew’s skeptical friend. At first I didn’t even recognize him and although it was just a supporting role this film was a great move for him to be involved in meaningful material outside of the Harry Potter world just like many of the actors from the films are doing. Simon shows a tough exterior, but as his friend is in trouble and his sister is gone, he shows how vulnerable he is. He is scared, but can’t ignore his intuition telling him things will only get worse if he ignores his gut feeling. Ros Leeming also did very well as Matthew’s friend and potential love interest, Amy. Her home life is just as bad as Matthew’s if not worse. She’s been through a lot, but she is still the one person who Matthew can really trust. She is kind, understanding, and believes Matthew when he tells her about hearing Tom’s voice and seeing him. She tries to help him rather than judge him to find his answers and to live a little along the way.

The setting for the film is dark and creepy itself. Everywhere around there seems to be danger. Matthew soon fears his own safety at home as his father turns on him and is wanting to get rid of him. Amy is constantly in danger of her father as he shows his annoyance in a more physical way. Brutal gangs are all around and constantly threatening just about anyone who wanders towards them. The woods are dark and ominous as well as the decaying underground hideaway we eventually come to that are completely frightening, not knowing what kind of horrors could be revealed here.

We are dealing with dysfunctional families and characters who are going through so much. The Disappeared is a very slow moving movie, but through this we get great examination of the characters. Matthew wants to get back to his life, but heads in a downward spiral that many label as insanity. Knowing that there is hardly anyone there for him just makes it harder as he knows he might have to take on his brother’s killer by himself. The father is developed the least, but we see the pain and anger within him. He is simply in such a dark place that he is far too afraid to reveal it to anyone else, especially the son he puts the blame for this on. Even the gang members show dysfunctional as violence is their only answer. They have lost their grip on reality and live in a much more sinister place now.

Voices, images, and nightmares foreshadow what is going to happen brilliantly without taking the suspense away, but it is really the end of the movie when the horror elements come in. Even then it is very tame horror, more through the events we know have taken place than what we actually see. There is only one death shown on screen and not much of the actual killing is shown. The only blood we see are drops that are shown on the ground. I think a little more gore could have escalated the tension, but it doesn’t take much away as this is more of a personal piece reflective of the characters and not as much about the killing itself. The ending is a great turn of events, especially since we are questioning everyone around Matthew, but still it ends up being the last person you expect. The killer’s identity really speaks to the fact that even those who have the reputation for being the most pure, kind, and good, can be the most deceptive, possibly committing further evils than anyone’s mind can fathom. It is their very reputation that allows them to go on killing as no one would ever suspect them.