The Abandoned (2007)

The Abandoned is one of those horror films that had the potential of being so much more than what it turned out to be. As a whole, it is a decent film but it could have been much better. The ideas for a great horror film are there, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. The Abandoned combines many horror genres into one film and you can clearly see that there was good ideas at work, but the filmmakers clearly couldn't tie up everything neatly and the film kind of falls apart near the end. However, there are some effective scares at work on-screen, and the cast do a fine job with the so-so material. With a few script rewrites and more thought out idea, the film would have clearly been a memorable addition to the genre. As it stands, this is only worth watching once, and you feel disappointed because this film had some good ingredients to make for a truly chilling movie. Where the film lacks is a compelling, and engaging story. I liked the film despite its flaws, but like I said, it's not something that I'd personally re-watch again and again. Another problem with the film is that it also relies on previously explored ideas from other films that we've seen before and were done better as well. The scares here are good, but there's just not enough originality with this one to really make it a compelling and enjoyable picture for fans to watch. Go in with an open mind, I thought it was a decent affair, with nothing remarkable about its plot, luckily the film had plenty of atmosphere that was dark, brooding and menacing, which made The Abandoned worth seeing. However, I was left wanting more out of the movie.

I have to admit I was really psyched for this movie after it slipped off my HorrorFest radar. The film started off evenly enough with the delightfully grey green tones of most movies set in Moscow and Karel Roden as always was brilliant, but that's where the movie loses its interest. The rest of the film, past the first half an hour or so, is overacted and overdone, leaving me feeling exasperated and bored. Its a shame, I really did want it to be better but this was one I definitely endured rather than enjoyed.