BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Steineded How sad is this?

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Spikeopath The Disappeared is directed by Johnny Kevorkian who also co-writes the screenplay with Neil Murphy. It stars Harry Treadaway, Greg Wise, Alex Jennings, Tom Felton, Finlay Robertson, Nikki Amuka-Bird and Ros Leeming. Music is by Ilan Eshkeri and cinematography by Diego Rodriguez. After suffering a mental breakdown following the disappearance of his younger brother whilst in his care, Matthew Ryan (Treadaway) is released from the hospital but finds he is haunted by visions and voices of his missing brother. Mental problem or something supernatural.Johnny Kevorkian's debut full length feature is a potent piece of British psychological horror. Undeniably on the surface the plot contains familiar horror tropes seen in big budgeted movies of the past, but Kevorkian and his cast strip the gloss away to reveal a disturbingly raw exposé of grief and mental trauma.The back drop is a dank and oppressive housing estate near the docklands, the colours washed out, the imagery and shadowy photography producing a creepy atmosphere befitting the thematics rumbling away in the story. The sound mix is brilliantly jarring, everything is well constructed to land us viewers firmly into the whirlwind of psychological discord that pervades the picture.The narrative isn't solely intent on solving the mystery of a missing child, itself a desperately sad and horrific centre point of the story, there's carefully inserted devices involving parental abuse, alcoholism, bullying, mental health care and suicide. It's undoubtedly miserable, but life so often is for many, and Kevorkian slow burns his story for maximum impact.The cast are led superbly by young Treadaway, appropriately looking like a young Ian Curtis, he hits all the right emotional beats without histrionics. It is a character that so easily could have been over played, making a mockery of the mental health issue, but Treadaway nails it. He's backed by an anguished turn from Wise as his father, while Felton, Leeming and Jennings skilfully act within the tonal requirements.I can't say the finale is a complete success, where the revelation stretches out too far into the supernatural. It would have been far better to keep it humanistic, since everything prior operated on those terms, but it doesn't kill the film. This remains a criminally under valued and under seen gem of low budget British horror. Derivative be damned, this has far more going for it to be tagged as that. 9/10

ghoulem-829-703912 I write very few reviews but this picture is one that I enjoyed so much I needed to write one. For those with little patience the first five or ten minutes are slow and then the story starts to bring you in to this family's tragedy. The story of Matthew and what happened to his younger brother is compelling. You really feel for this kid and most of the people in his life. There is plenty here for a ghost story lover and a mystery buff as well, the cast does a wonderful job and it was a pleasure to watch a movie that didn't rely on a lot of sudden sounds for scare effects. I watched this on "Netflix" streaming, but I am buying a copy and will be looking for more films by these filmmakers. Bob C.

Leofwine_draca A gritty council estate drama about a missing kid, with the usual run of domestic violence, hoodie gangs, street crime, beatings, social workers and creepy adults. It's down to earth and realistic, eliciting decent performances from its mostly teenage cast; Harry Treadaway is particularly good as the boy grieving for his lost brother. Unfortunately, though, this story is very familiar (URBAN GHOST STORY is just one of the many others I remember doing the same kind of thing), and it doesn't have a great deal to differentiate it from the rest.It's gently haunting for the most part, with the ghost story taking the form of snatched visions, unexplained domestic events and a general feeling of suspense and foreboding. The sub-plot involving a medium and her young girl was very well done, I thought, and the twist ending is undeniably powerful (if very familiar, considering all the other films ploughing the same furrow). Cast nods go to Tom Felton (Harry Potter's Malfoy) playing a refreshingly non-magical teen for once, Ros Leeming as the poignant love interest and Alex Jennings (who some may remember from Children's BBC's ALFONSO BONZO) as a kindly vicar.

johannes2000-1 This movie was a pleasant surprise on all accounts. It's fairly creepy, has a good pace and is very well acted. Why they should want to advertise this as a horror movie is beyond me, it's not horror at all, more a supernatural thriller, like (for instance) Dragonfly is; like that one it's about dead people who try to communicate with the living to pass on an important message. For the die-hard horror fans there's not much to enjoy: no graphic killings, no gore, hardly any blood-shed and no spectacular special effects; the creepiness is mainly atmospheric, but to me (and I'm actually a big horror fan myself) it totally worked, so kudos to Johnny Kevorkian who directed and (co-)wrote this movie. The whole project impresses as low-budgeted, but they made that cleverly work in favor of the movie, the dreadful and desolate surroundings of the suburban apartment-buildings adding up to the needed surreal atmosphere. Young Harry Treadaway gives a fine and very convincing performance as the traumatized and guilt-ridden Matthew who feels responsible for his little brothers disappearance one evening when he was having a booze and pot party on his room with friends and more or less forgot about his brother playing alone outside. Treadaways acting is impressive: very restrained and subtle and with a surprising maturity. Gregg Wise plays the father with equal perfection, the awkward and strained relationship between the two of them gets palpable in an almost claustrophobic way. A special mention to Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films!) who gives a good performance in his small role as Matthews buddy Simon. My only slight criticism is more general in respect to this kind of films: I always wonder why dead people are supposed to follow such elaborate and cryptic schemes to deliver an important message - can't they just announce it fair and square in a dream or write it down supernaturally on a piece of paper?! Now poor Matthew has to spend a whole movie trying to decipher all these weird goings-on! And boy, they are really stretching the limits of credibility in this one! I mean: I can live with hearing the voice of a dead loved-one, or seeing a dead person from the corner of your eyes flash by. But spending many a day with a girlfriend (and making out with her!), who afterwards turns out to be already dead ?! Visiting a neighborhood medium and even receiving a drawing from her little child when afterwards both turned out to having been dead for a long time too?!? It maybe was a bit too much to swallow, but anyway, it sort of comes with this kind of territory and it didn't diminish my appreciation at all. I give the movie a heartfelt 9 out of 10!