The Abandoned (2007)

Average rating

(50%)

Starring:	Carlos Reig-Plaza \| Anastasia Hille \| Anna Panayotova \| Monica Baunova \| Paraskeva Djukelova \| Valentin Ganev \| Svetlana Smoleva \| Kalin Arsov \| Karel Roden \| Marta Yaneva
Director:	Nacho Cerda
Studio:	MOMENTUM PICTURES
Run time:	99 mins
Genres:	Comedy \| Horror
Languages:	English
Released:	May 19, 2008

The expertly crafted 2007 haunted-house movie THE ABANDONED puts an original sheen on the well-worn tradition of the haunted house flick. Shot in Bulgaria but set in Russia, the movie centres around Marie (Anastasia Hille), an American born in Russia and abandoned as an infant. Marie returns to Russia 40 years later to visit the family estate with her brother, Nicolai (Karl Roden), who was also abandoned, but raised in Russia. Together they explore the old homestead in the hopes of rediscovering their pasts and unearthing the truth about the family they never knew. Like any haunted-house movie worth its salt, THE ABANDONED is all about the psychic residue left in the house following a tragedy. In this case, the spirit of Marie and Karl's father has summoned them back to the family home in order to finish the foiled infanticide he was attempting decades ago.
The manifestations of the past--i.e. the things that go bump in the night--are terrifying. Director Nacho Cerda's cinematic frights come at the least expected moments and in unique forms, and his unflinching shots of Marie and Karl's decaying yet persistent doppelgangers offer some of the most chilling images in the movie. Ultimately, THE ABANDONED works because it takes the viewer by surprise on so many levels. Thrills and chills abound, but they are delivered in unexpected ways. While the premise isn't entirely original and the script isn't completely free of holes, it is expertly made from a purely filmic standpoint, and there is something unavoidably chilling about the idea of never escaping one's past, particularly when the past is as horrific as the one depicted in THE ABANDONED.

Highest rated reviews

11 out of 11 people found the following review helpful:

*** May contain spoilers ***

Rated 3.0 stars
The Abandoned

A Customer from Abertawe, 8th August, 2008

Technically from the little I read about this Nacho Cerdas offering I should have hated it but strangely I found The Abandoned quite polished in parts with some excellent cinematography and a haunting soundtrack. The film has some beautiful if grotesque images as we see Marie ( Anastasia Hille) a film maker return to rural Russia her country of birth to learn about her adopted parents, and discover horrifying truths about her childhood as she seeks out her family's abandoned property in dense mountainous forest. There are some disturbing moments that really make you jump as the story unfolds, and the house and it's murky history becomes the focus of attention .It's rather bizarre in parts, but with no real gore or buckets of blood still manages to hold the attention with some atmospheric and eerie set pieces that are as intriguing as they are chilling. It does have a rather puzzling couple of scenes toward the climax that were slightly confusing but didn't spoil my enjoyment of it at all, in fact it probably enhanced it. Won't be for everyone but something a little different that raises it up above the usual fodder that passes for horror these days, but strictly for the chills and spills brigade only.

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Most recent reviews

Rated 0.0 stars
The abandoned

devilsrejectgirl666 from , 13th March, 2010

OH DEAR!!!! ABANDONE ALL IDEAS OF EVEN, ENTERTAINING THIS FILM!!!! how sad it is!, that a director like nacho cerda, who still holds throne may i add, in second place position, of having made one of the most disturbing, sickest films ever to grace celluloid!!!!! If you like horror, check out the top 10, sickest list of films ever made. Google it! number two should appear as follows:- Aftermath (genesis)! Watch this, IF YOU DARE!!! It is a short film, approx 29 minutes long, but beleive me, that is long enough!!! I cringed with my mouth wide open! This is Nacho Cerda at his disturbingly best! LINK:-LET ME WATCH THIS.COM

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