The Disappeared

UK, 2008. Directed by Johnny Kevorkian. Harry Treadaway, Greg Wise, Alex Jennings, Ros Leeming, Tom Felton, Nikki Amuka-Bird.

Although tagged as a horror/thriller, this is more accurately described as a ghost story with some horror overtones. Matthew (Harry Treadaway) returns home after a spell in a psychiatric ward where he has been trying to come to terms with the disappearance and probable death of his younger brother. He still carries feelings of guilt as his father (Greg Wise) had left him in charge of the younger boy on the night he vanished. Home is a run-down flat in a grey tower block in South London which he shares with his father. There is an uneasy mood between them which we can gather is due at least in part to recent events, although in the father we also have a sense of a quick temper possibly fuelled by drink. Soon Matthew is hearing the voice of his brother calling out to him in a variety of ways and he takes this as his cue to investigate his disappearance further. Along the way he is helped by his new neighbour, Amy (Ros Leeming), a young girl with family troubles of her own, a local psychic (Nikki Amuka-Bird) and his best friend Simon, played by Tom Felton (Draco in the Harry Potter films, here in a more sympathetic role). This is the first feature-length production for director Johnny Kevorkian and co-writer Neil Murphy, and it’s an impressive debut. The twists and turns of the plot aren’t that surprising when they come and there’s quite a few clichés, but what made it interesting for me was the bleak landscape and naturalistic feel to the cinematography and the acting. You get a sense that this is what it would be like if Ken Loach made a horror film. It’s only in the final scenes, where the plot demands a more conventional thriller action and dénouement, that the naturalism jars a little. But still well worth a look.