Abandon all hope to see original or genuinely petrifying new horror here, as Nacho Cerdà's American long-feature debut reverts to all the known and dreadfully overused clichés of ghost stories and haunted mansion tales, but doesn't succeed in showing a single shocking image or surprising plot twist. "The Abandoned" is overlong, boring and soft and it's particularly disappointing because Cerdà built up quite an eminent reputation with his three controversial 90's short movies. Moreover, he wrote the script together with two other very eminent guys of the horror genre, Karim Hussein of "Subconscious Cruelty" and Richard Stanley of "Dust Devil", but even the three of them didn't manage to come up with something uniquely morbid and/or genuinely scary. This film too often feels like the typically Americanized remake of a popular Asian ghost story, only the Asian original doesn't exist in this case. Following a strange invitation, the American film producer Marie returns to her home country Russia. She was adopted as a baby, nearly 42 years ago, and already gave up all hope to ever discover the identity of her real parents when she now suddenly receives an invitation to visit her parental estate. She's transported to a forsaken area near a lake where meets her estranged twin brother, and together they slowly unravel their mysterious & horrific family background. Gee, do you think the place is infested with ghosts from the past? And do you honestly doubt they'll eventually get into contact with the restless spirits of their parents? I have to admit "The Abandoned" looks beautifully sinister and dark. Xavi Giménez' camera-work provides the film with an atmosphere that is more unsettling than the plot suggests and also the rare moments of fright are entirely the courtesy of Giménez talented eye for visual terror. The rest of the film is an overlong series of false scares and implausible time-paradoxes that aren't likely to shock anyone. Nacho Cerdà may have had some success with his explicit short movies, but he's not yet on par with his Spanish colleagues Jaume Balagueró ("The Nameless") and especially Alejandro Amenàbar ("The Others") when it comes to suggestive horror that is compelling and creepy at the same time. The handful of gory sequences among which a virulent attack by ravenous pigs are wildly entertaining, but they don't even feel appropriate considering the overall sober tone of the film. Generally speaking, "The Abandoned" had great potential (I haven't mentioned the eerie scenery yet, like dolls and such) and easily could have been a small horror-triumph, but it sadly turned out a painful disappointment. Better luck next time, Nacho...
Review of The Abandoned
