“Death never runs out of time.”
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--THE PLOT
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Genre fans should need no introduction to the world of Nacho Cerda, the
man responsible for what is quite possibly the most fucked up & depraved
short film ever made Aftermath (1994.) However it has taken a long 12
years for Nacho to finally make the transition to a full length feature. Was it
worth the wait?
A 40 year old orphan woman (Marie) heads back to her home country
(Russia) to try and unfold the story of her life. After talking to a solicitor
who insists she come over to find out what happened, Marie receives the
old family homestead as part of the will. Heading to the farmhouse Marie
learns a lot more than she bargained for....
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--VIDEO
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The video is presented in a 1.85:1 widescreen with the option of
choosing English subtitles.
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--AUDIO
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Eagle Entertainment used the DTS soundtrack, as this film really
benefits from the 5.1 mix, trust me!
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--EXTRAS
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Originally released in America as part of the 8 Films To Die For Series
(of which Wicked Little Things, also reviewed on this site is part of)
the R4 DVD was released not very long ago on a pretty much bare
bones disc. A couple of trailers is all we get.
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--FINAL THOUGHTS
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Really, The Abandoned is one of those films that the less you know
about the plot, the better the viewing experience will be. The plot
runs through many twists and turns and really drags the viewer into
unfolding events. It should be said though that the plot is also not the
most significant part of this film, as the main reason the film works as
well as it does is because of the real brooding atmosphere and the
incredible visual aspects. It is easy to tell that Nacho is influenced by
the old Italian horror films as The Abandoned has the same
atmospheric feeling of say Black Sunday, but with a visual style that
reminded me a hell of a lot of The Beyond. That is however, not to say
that The Abandoned is a rip off of those 2 films, far from it actually, as
The Abandoned really stands up on its own 2 feet as one of the most
original horror films to come out in a long while. The story itself is
almost of a Ghost Story/Haunted House type, but in no way is it
clichéd or anything.
An essential purchase for sure, The Abandoned has more style &
substance anything that has come out in ages and is really unsettling
in its execution. One of the first true classics of the 00's.
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