The Abandoned

Taking us back and forth 40 years in Russia and it is obvious not a lot has changed from 1966 up until today, I found this to be an exceptional use of location to create a dark eerie presence and visual display on screen. Director Nacho Cerda got the most out of the 2 lead roles (Anastasia Hille and Karel Roden), I had never seen either one of them and I think they did a reasonably good job working out the kinks of the film. The story is the only thing that really bothered me, I tried to stay with it but honestly there were some times that I did get a little lost but every time I found myself wondering what was going on, the characters answered my questions. I was wondering how Nicolai got to the house and Marie asked him that very question. I thought the movie was well thought out and sound affects and visuals really helped draw you in to the film. A lot of moments that made my wife jump and grab my arm tighter.

Now I am not that old, early 30's but I have to say what is the movie crowd watching, I am afraid this film may fall in between the older group, older than me and the young crowd. It isn't Jack Ass and it is not Hills Have Eyes, The Abandoned is a well written and in my opinion an over all good suspense film that is getting over looked by the movie goer. I have seen the banners on the internet and some trailers but they don't even do this film justice. What I like is that it takes us on a journey to a part of the world where you know there was and is a lot of adoption abuse and other acts against humans going on and it tells a story of a home, a haunted past that won't rest until the family is all but gone. The spirits may be stuck in another place, who knows, the point is that the movie has a story, it has a life and I applaud the movie fan who like me can appreciate this, God I sound like my Mom, I give the movie a B and I encourage people not to over look this just because it doesn't have a flashy cast. Have fun, this movie will make you jump a few times and takes you on a few rides. I look forward to more films from Nacho Cerda, I will keep my ears open for his name in the future.

This film is a solid 6, no it isn't going to win any awards or anything like that but what horror suspense film with 2 no name actors does anyway.. ever. What The Abandoned will do for you is keep you wondering what is down the hall or around the next corner. It is a suspense film, sprinkled in with some horror elements. I can't tell you how many times the audience jumped out of the room. It was great, the people were embarrassed for themselves because they got so scared. That to me is what going to these movies is all about, it is about the experience and the film and how it draws you in at 10:00 at night. I did think the movie had a lot of credits at the beginning, the writing caught me off guard, but I like how when the family was speaking Russian we didn't get subtitles, that was cool, we don't need to know every word these folks are saying, just know that something bad is about to go down and it did. Check out The Abandoned for a good time with friends, the movie is pretty solid in a day when a lot of these movies leave you wondering what you just wasted your darn money and time on, this one will keep you jumping and guessing the whole way through.

Reading over almost every single one star review on this, it would appear that every single person that ranked it as such cannot follow even a fairly simple plot as this (I see lots of "It makes no sense" and "Nothing is explained" comments.). Really sad to see good gems in the rough like this getting trashed by people that frankly shouldn't be reviewing movies, maybe I'm an elitist, I don't know, but I'm sorry, if you couldn't follow the story of The Abandoned, I really don't know what to say.

This movie is kept from being a top tier creepy movie simply by pacing issues, that's probably my main problem with it which drags it's score into the 7 range (might as well be a 10 for the amount of drek horror made since the mid 90's). This movie has impeccable atmosphere, the kind you can cut through with a knife which is oh so important for any great haunted house film. The atmosphere itself was incredibly creepy, the director should have let the audience just stew in that a bit before getting right to the point so to speak within minutes of walking into the house, it really lessens the impact of the imagery and the antagonists in this movie, but doesn't destroy it by any means.

What stood out the most to me is that it was a very original idea (as far as i know, I have never seen anything quite like it) and like The Baby's room, I love wildly original takes on my favorite horror genre, the haunted house movie. It's deliciously dark without relying on cheap gore, but if that's what you're looking for, there's some incredibly brutal and disturbing scenes in it. The story and acting and characters are good enough to be very compelling but at the same time, I think a little more character development couldn't have hurt. yet we have people screaming "TOO SLOW TOO BORING" and 1 starring it so this is why character development is sadly all but dead in horror movies.

The imagery and photography was fantastic, sound appropriately creepy if severely overdone at times but only a few times.

Just see it. Even if it doesn't scare you like it didn't scare me (i can count the movies on one hand that have achieved this, this is the holy grail of horror for me.), it's very creepy and quite unnerving and just an all around enjoyable flick. Definitely gets the thumbs up from me.

ABANDONED is a sleek Spanish production with acceptable budget and packs genuine chills , suspense , tension , and shocks , it's a terror-thriller very exciting . It deals with an American film producer named Marie (Anastasia Hille) goes back to her homeland, Russia (although shot in Bulgaria), where her mother's (Paraskeva) dead body has been found under strange circumstances. She never knew her, having been adopted and brought to America as a baby. The only track as to what might have happened is an abandoned , isolated house in the mountains that supposedly belong to her natural parents. Being the only next of kin, she inherits the farm , but no one will take her there as the local superstitions state that the area is condemned . Only one man will embark on such a long and risked trip . A stranger that oddly seems to know quite a bit about her history. But once arrived the guide mysteriously disappears, forcing Marie to explore the derelict place alone. She discovers someone else on the property. A man named Nikolai (Karel Roden), who claims to have been lured there exactly in the same manner, so he could discover the truth behind his unknown past as well. They become stranded in the immense compound, plagued by horrifying, ghostly visions .The problem is that the ghosts that wander around are their own. Dead versions of themselves marauder between the house in the night . Time begins to change in reverse as history re-lives itself in front of their very eyes. While both their ghosts, illustrating how they will die, patiently await their living counterparts to expire. A cycle of terror comes to fruition, as they are revealed the reason they have been summoned for this perverse meeting . And the cruel secret behind their family takes place at the end of the movie.

This is a horror story with creepy atmosphere and plenty of twists and turns . It contains mystery,violence, gore , suspense in a dark environment with imposing tension and intrigue . This spooky movie produced by the successful Catalan producer Julio Fernandez displays terror, shocks, hard-edged drama , plot twists and creepy images . The story come to life in a terrifying fashion, giving it a haunting ominous ambiance that often shows the past , present and future at a nightmare's atmosphere. While the look is suitable atmospheric and ghastly , the argument stretches plausibility to the breaking point in a surprising finale . Xavi Gimenez cinematography is excellent creating a frightening and scary atmosphere filmed on location in Sofia, Bugaria, he's expert on sombre photography as proved in ¨ Fragile, Intact, and Nameless ¨. Mesmerizing and intriguing music by Alfonso Conde . The motion picture is well written and directed by Nacho Cerda who create a powerful story that blends chills , thrills , suspense and familiar drama in a cleverly devised plot that certainly offers more than the usual terror film . Cerda is a good director who formerly made amazing and gory shorts as ¨The awakening¨ , ¨Genesis¨and ¨Aftermath¨. Rating : Good : 6,5 . This is a frightening , chilling, and horror drama , all at their best that will appeal to terror buffs .