User Reviews

This is one of those puzzling parallel universes past/future movies that leaves you guessing who's who and what's what. It has some good things going for it: it's not filmed in LA but in Bulgaria (the story takes place in Russia) and Spain, it doesn't feauture skinny teenage models, it's somewhat thoughtful, it starts with some great shots of the sky and of fields. But with these kinds of movies, either the setup of the puzzle works but the resolution at the end fails, or the setup stinks and the resolution works. This movie falls into the latter. There's endless running around dark rooms and halls with flashlights and it's not clear when or why, there's countless instances of driving around in an old truck only to end up at the same place, and all of this is taking place without much story telling to give us reason to care. I fell asleep several times while all this was going on, it just seemed pointless. Near the end of the movie, things get interesting because one hopes that there's some type of resolution or explanation as to what on earth is going on. Some gore and very nice nudity is introduced as if the filmmakers finally remembered that they were doing a horror film. But in the end they fail to make sense of it all, which frankly is all too common in movies, where story-telling is sacrificed for the sake of sounds and visuals and the last 10 minutes they want to cram all the reasons for the existence of the movie. One can't care for any of the characters, and there are only 2 of them. One annoying American woman and a Russian guy who's accent is too heavy to understand what he's talking about. Even though it's a foreign movie the sound editing is done the American way for American ADD audiences: excedingly, annoyingly loud. Even though the ending doesn't succeed entirely it brought some live into an otherwise boring movie, it somehow it opened some possibilities that are interesting. Maybe that was the plan all along: to bore the audience during 9/10 of the movie while the puzzle is setup and then give you something to think about in the end so you'll end up liking the movie. Sorry, but there's just too much not to like about it.

After seeing this movie at horror fest I was just OK with it. I thought it was good, but not anything to write home about. After seeing the television trailer I decided to give it another shot. I was impressed how much I liked it the second time around. There was a lot I missed in the first viewing. I like how everything comes full circle and how there is a circle of water surrounding the house, and how it plays on the circle of life and everything needing to be completed. I still thought the acting was great. I like how the actors actually play there own doppelgangers it adds to the creep factor. It was crazy to see Nicolai shoot his ghost and then see the bullet go threw his own leg, and when he cauterized his own wound, wow that part made me cringe.I thought that the special effects were another great part of this movie. They were for the most part created by hand instead of by a computer which for me is a lot more affective, ha ha. I'm glad I watched it again I really got a lot more out of it, before i thought the whole daughter in America thing was kind of unnecessary, but i realize it adds a lot to Marie's character. It shows how isolated she has been even from her immediate family. I think this film is definitely worth seeing.

Unless you are petrified of Russian people or boars, this movie is a snorefest. Actually, I fell asleep about 40 minutes in & had to fight the urge to just leave the theater. I wish I had. A waste of a perfectly lovely Saturday evening.

Even "Silent Hill" was scarier. Heck, even "Pan's Labyrinth" was scarier. I'm still unclear on what was supposed to be scary in this flick.

To begin with, I'm very leery of movies that use "pidgin Russian" like this one did in the opening credits. It's embarrassing to me since I brought a group of my Russian friends & we all cringed. Oh my god.

Hmm. Well, luckily for me (& probably you, too) this movie has already escaped my brain & I just stepped out of it an hour ago. So I have no specifics, just murky visuals that go nowhere & some languishing-now-dead hope that anything would happen.

Perhaps I saw a completely mutilated version of this film because I can't believe it got such great reviews here (which is why I saw it) & ended up being so completely devoid of not only Horror or Suspense but Overall Entertainment Value as well.

I give it a 2 because, yes, I fell asleep & wanted to leave after 40 minutes but I woke up & didn't leave.

This is what a decent haunted house movie should be like. That right sense of mystery and horror and of light and dark. The plot that drags in the viewer and doesn't offend you with unsightly images. A woman flees her murderous husband to save her children but dies herself. Her daughter grows up then goes in search of her ancestral home and ends up at the scene her story began but discovers her brother and ghosts; unfortunately, that's not where the story ends. Where the story loses me is in its time warp sub-plot where the siblings discover the house restoring itself as well as the ghosts of their future counterparts. They end up back in time and trapped reliving the events of their childhood, and when the woman tries to escape, she just ends up back to the house. It's scary, atmospheric and suspenseful, but it also becomes tedious, confusing and unbelievable at time. It is not just a simple haunted house movie and that's the shame, but still, it is worth watching if you don't mind a lack of logic in your story-telling.

The Abandoned is a rather interesting take on the traditional ghost tale as it spins a web of confusion throughout only to make perfect sense in the end. That in it's own self is a feat to give high praise for when so many J-Horror movies just end up being weird with no true resolution this film is weird and actually comes full circle in the end to give you the facts of what we just watched for the last 90 minutes.

The story is about a lady that goes back to her land of birth Russia to get what remains from her dead mother...namely her "estate". I use the term loosely as the estate is really a rickety old farmhouse. As the movie progresses she begins to see a weird ghost that looks exactly like her as well as a strange visitor that claims to be her brother. All this leads to more bizarre happenings and a possibility that she should not have lived to see her adulthood.

I really liked this movie on a technical level and as a story it does a good job of not leaving anything out of the details. That being said the main problem will be for most impatient horror fans as this one is a bit of a slow burner. More of an art-house horror than a traditional spook fest, if you want to see a well crafted and acted horror film this will no doubt be up your alley. For those who can not adapt to that kind of horror will more than likely give this the thumbs down as boredom will set in at times.

In the end however the pros definitely out weight the cons and those looking for a more serious style horror romp will be pleased. Others looking for anything less will more than likely have already "Abandoned" this one before it ends.

Score: 7/10: Good Film. Despite some lulls director Nacho Cerda has carved out a nice tale of the supernatural for the thinking man or woman brave enough to enter.

this movie wasn't as bad as anyone has said it was the beginning was slow along with the gradual progress, but for a rated R movie i would say that it was a fairly decent one. it does give u the sense like you've seen a movie just like it before. i agree it was very long, the opening credits made u think it was in Russian dialog,but they weren't long. getting the story across wasn't really forced in this movie,there wasn't really any fighting against what they were trying to run from. i think the blood and gore really saved what there was of it to be saved,all the characters besides the main chick are suspicious and your not sure exactly whats going on.its a big run around in a maze where the exit is simple but not enough for the movie to end well

Probably one of the few best supernatural horror films of the past few years, "The Abandoned" is a refreshing and scary movie. The film begins at a house in remote Russia, where a family discovers a dead woman and her two living twin infants in a truck. Cut to present day, a woman named Marie arrives in Russia in hopes of discovering her true birth mother and learning of her family. After she finds out her mother is actually dead, she inherits the old family farm, which is located miles and miles from civilization in the remote woods on an island. She is taken out there by a man, and arrives at night, only to have the man who drove her disappear in the forest. She finds the old house in the middle of the forest, where she has a frightening encounter and awakes to a man, Nicolai, who claims to be her twin brother. Turns out that their mother was murdered in the house, and they were meant to die that night too... and history is about to repeat itself and take their lives, just as it was originally supposed to forty years earlier.

The scariest supernatural thriller I've seen in quite a long time, "The Abandoned" is a unique and wonderfully crafted horror film that is reminiscent of the classic ghost stories of the '70s and '80s, but with an interesting and satisfying spin on it. The story itself is masterfully written and contains some very intriguing concepts and ideas - it really gets you thinking, and introduces some wonderful and refreshing into the genre. The idea of someone's "destiny" or "fate" coming back to haunt them and ultimately enact what was supposed to take their life years before is a really neat and original concept - for those thinking of something along the lines of "Final Destination", beware because this film is unlike that in almost every way possible, and also much, much scarier than your average horror fare.

To resemble the inescapable fate of our characters, are mirror images of them, with whited-out eyes. According to legend, once you see yourself, that means it's time to die. These double-figures of our main characters are really scary looking, even though they are played by the same actors. They chase Marie and Nicolai, trying to extract the life from them - Nicolai even tries to shoot the figure of himself in fear, but finds a bullet in his own leg instead of the apparition - so these figures are actually part of the people themselves. Along with the spellbinding storyline, director Nacho Cerda directs the film excellently. There is plenty of suspense throughout the film, and it slowly builds on layers as the movie progresses to the surprising climax. For those who like gore, there is also a bit of that thrown in, and it was much more violent than usual considering this is a 'ghost' story.

Atmosphere is heavy and intense in this film, and I really loved that about it. The Russian countryside is an eerie location (although the movie was filmed in Bulgaria) to set the story and there are many simplistic but effective shots used throughout. It appears as though the old abandoned house is miles away from civilization (it took an entire day to get there for Marie), and is now overgrown and rundown - the set dressing is excellent and the house itself is one of the spookiest-looking (inside and out) haunted houses I've yet to see in a horror film. The house itself is very spooky, and is almost the epitome of a haunted house. Located in the complete middle of nowhere, dilapidated, and the site of grisly murders. All these haunted house elements may seem clichéd, but this is a haunted house film that is unlike any other - it is highly original and very well-written. Granted, there are a couple of typical horror clichés to be found (investigating by yourself in a dark basement, among a few others), but these are all forgivable in comparison to the rest of the movie. The film is consistently dark and dreary, and an eerie foreboding feeling of being unable to escape is laid out over the entire film. The atmosphere is really to die for. The acting is also excellent, our two leads really carry the film and are consistently believable and sympathetic. The semi-shocker of a conclusion was a brilliant and effective way to end the movie, and wasn't what I was expecting.

Overall, "The Abandoned" is an intense and atmospheric horror film that is sure to please fans of old-school supernatural films. The atmosphere is dark and menacing, there are plenty of very scary moments, the pacing is just right, and the performances were very well done. Definitely my favorite horror film of this year (so far), and probably the best supernatural-horror movie I've seen in a very long time. Forget about all of those PG-13 kiddie ghost films, like "The Grudge 2" and "The Messengers" - "The Abandoned" is miles above them all, and much more sophisticated and scary. Recommended to anyone who enjoys a good (but different) ghost story. 10/10.

I really liked the use of music in this movie, or should I say un-use. It was nice for once that every creepy moment wasn't foreshadowed by a few bars of a song, I mean there are some classic films which that works for, but sometimes it nice to have a change. I liked how this one had either really soft music or just silence to heighten the creepiness. Another good thing was the house; it was very scary. I like how it was sort of alive, and in control. I think a lot of old houses have personality and are really creepy. A lot of the cuts were clever to. I liked when it went from the picture on the t.v. two the farm. I sort of wish there would have been a little more interaction with some towns people or something, but the film still worked for me. I liked the river surrounding the house in a circle that was a good metaphor, and the scene where everything returned to the way it was 40 years ago was cool to. I think this movie had a lot going for it. The cinematography was great, the acting was good, the scenery was perfect. My only criticism would be that the story was a little hard to follow, but I definitely think it was worth seeing and I kind of want to watch it again. It seems like it's one of those movie you need to watch more than once to fully appreciate.