DVD Release
Film producer Marie Jones has flown to Russia to claim land that had previously belonged to her biological mother, a woman she’d never know as a child. Eager to find out more, she arranges a ride to the private island where the old farm is located. Could this old place lead her to some clues as to who her mother was and why she was given up for adoption?
When Marie arrives, she’s separated from her driver and is forced to venture into the desolate home in search of him. Instead of locating her driver, Maria comes face to face with her doppelganger! Not only is Marie’s “other” dead but she’s forced to accept the possibility that she may meet the same fate her “other” has. Naturally, she has no plans of sticking around and she hits the forest running only to end up plunging into the raging river that surrounds the island and presumably to her fate.
Death is not to be though for Marie, not yet anyhow. A stranger has rescued her from the water and introduces himself as Nicolai…Marie’s long lost twin brother! He’s come to the farm for the very same reasons Marie has and, just as his sister, he’s been seeing his “other.” They deduce that these deceased versions of themselves aren’t illusions but their fates which haven’t quite caught up with them yet. Now that they’re both together again the cycle that was started all those years ago that left them orphans will be resumed. Can Nicolai and Marie find a way out of the home and off the island before their birthday or will their “others” finally catch up with them?
Dealing with issues of abandonment (dur!) as well as the devastating cycles of mental and physical abuse many families suffer at the hands of cruel “loved ones,” this film is just as chilling as it is beautiful and promises to be the first of many incredible films from auteur, Nacho Cerdá.
The Abandoned is one spectacular bit of horror filmmaking that leans heavy on the cerebral without sacrificing atmosphere and a healthy dose of the red stuff. Honestly, was there any doubt this film would end up being so freakin’ sweet? The film was directed by Nacho Cerdá, co-written by Cerdá, Karim (Subconscious Cruelty) Hussain and legendary filmmaker, Richard (Dust Devil) Stanley and featured the superb cinematography of Xavi (Fragile) Giménez. In my opinion the one and only thing I had an issue with concerning the film itself was with Jorge Macaya’s editing which occasionally left some things feeling a bit disjointed. He did some solid work on Victor (Return to House on Haunted Hill) García’s brilliant short film, El Ciclo, so I’m inclined to believe Cerdá and runtime restrictions played some small part in the process as well. I wouldn’t say the editing was horrible or anything but some scenes felt like they jumped too far ahead of the last. One minute Marie is sitting talking to her brother, the next she’s knee deep in water in the cellar. Not incredibly confusing but occasionally annoying.
Both Anastasia (The Wisdom of Crocodiles) Hille and Karel (Hellboy) Roden turned in solid performances though the true stars of The Abandoned were the atmosphere and Anatasia & Karel’s doppelgangers. The production and FX work in this feature were second to none and incredibly effective. This is one of those films that will have you turning the lights on. I’ll admit, after seeing this film I hopped into the shower before bed and found myself barely able to concentrate on washing my balls as I kept looking over my shoulder and around the shower curtain.
As I mentioned above, the editing bothered me a bit but it came nowhere close to bothering me as much as the lack of extras on this disc did though. C’MON LIONSGATE! You’re totally ripping people off! Where’s the audio commentary with Cerdá, Hussain and Stanley? Where’s the alternate commentary with Hille and Karel? Where’s all the sweet featurettes and shit? BOGUS MAN BOGUS. Not only was this flick NOT included in the After Dark box set but we get a bare bones release after all that waiting? WHAT THE FUCK. One wonders whether Lionsgate really had no extras to work with or they simply released this with nothing purposely just to get it on the market. Anybody else smell a 2-disc special edition brewing on the double dip tip?
The Abandoned is a fine flick that’s guaranteed to leave some utterly confused, others absolutely satisfied and the rest wondering why there weren’t any pretty people or Evanescence.
*scratches head* I think we must have been watching two different films
I found it really tedious and rather predictable. I was actually annoyed by it. The script saw Marie doing things that would make the final girl in the cheapest Horror Channel slasher wince; “Oh, a kindly man just saved my life and is the only other human for miles. I know, I’ll whack him over the bonce and run.”. And the editing really got on my tits.
Whether due to the fact that Marie and Nicolai’s fate became so glaringly obvious very early on, those excruciating final girl moments or Hille’s strangely emotionless performance, I found it impossible to muster up any concern for Marie whatsoever. Nicolai I found slightly more sympathetic, though only in the last 30 minutes or so (and his demeanour in the last half hour does raise some questions about his earlier actions).
Those last 30 minutes were certainly the most interesting of the film, especially visually. Narratively, it felt like there was a great, sudden rush towards a finale after an hour of meandering plot which saw Marie aimlessly running around the Russian countryside and abandoned farmhouses, learning very little and doing almost everything in her power to get herself killed.
The doppelgangers were unnerving to begin with but, after watching them idle slowly after Marie and Nicolai time and time again, they lost all their potency. And how stupid was Marie, exactly, to smack her doppelganger round the head after what happened to Nicolai? I think she needs some professional help with that head-whacking obsession of hers
The scene towards the end of the film that finds Marie in the truck (when the film is stopped and we hear a flashback) felt patronising, a real “well, durr” moment. That point felt like a natural place to draw the film to a conclusion, but on it went, spelling things out that we’d already realised.
I assume that The Abandoned is an attempt at an avant-garde revision of hoary old Horror themes such as the house that holds murderous secrets and the ubiquitousness of the past. An admirable aim but, unfortunately, it is flawed on almost every level (with the exception of some solid cinematography). I had the impression whilst watching that the audience were not credited with much capacity for subtlety or ambiguity. What annoys me so much is that there was such great potential here. But I found myself feeling bored, pissed off and hoping it would hurry up and end.
AWESOME REVIEW GIRLFRIEND! I respectfully disagree with you on some points, as I loved this flick, but I understand your position. It’s definitely an acquired taste. For me this was an incredible treat as I’m a huge Stanley, Hussain and Cerda fan.
Once again, great feedback! Love it!
Thank you!
I know that a lot of people whose opinions I respect, yours included, rate this one really highly and for that reason I will watch it again at some point in the future. I think that the weight of expectations on some films can mean they have to do so much more than something very fluffy and Hollywood to impress me. This could quite possible be one of them, as it’s a film I wanted to like a lot.
I completely understand! No rush on watching it again though because if it failed to entertain you, it failed. No need to second guess your gut feeling on a film. Some films just appeal more to some and far less to others. Being a fan of the three men involved with this film I sort of got exactly what I was looking for but, trust me, I’ve had friends use choice words to express their displeasure after checking this out on my recommendation. Glad you voiced your opinion on this review though, I wish folks would do that more!