The Abandoned (2006)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Nacho Cerdà

Writers:

Karim Hussain (screenplay) &
Nacho Cerdà (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

23 February 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Death never runs out of time.

Plot:

An adopted woman returns to her home country to the family home that she never knew and must face to mystery that lies there.

Plot Keywords:

Farm | Ghost | Film Producer | Guide | Russia

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Anastasia Hille	...	Marie Jones
Karel Roden	...	Nicolai
Valentin Ganev	...	Andrei Misharin / Kolya Kaidavosky
Paraskeva Djukelova	...	Marie's Mother
Carlos Reig-Plaza	...	Anatoliy
Kalin Arsov	...	Bearded Russian Patriarch Man '1966'
Svetlana Smoleva	...	Bearded Patriarch's wife '1966'
Anna Panayotova	...	Bearded Patriarch's daughter '1966'
Jordanka Angelova	...	Blind Woman 'present day'
Valentin Goshev	...	Patriarch - present day
Jasmina Marinova	...	Patriarch's Wife
Monica Baunova	...	Emily
Marta Yaneva	...	Natalya

Also Known As:

Bloodline (Spain) (working title)
Los abandonados (Spain)
Los habitantes (Mexico) (DVD title) (Peru) [es]
Abandonnée (France) [fr]
Apotropaia mystika (Greece) (DVD box title) [el]
Los abandonados (Argentina) (DVD title) [es]
The Abandoned - Die Verlassenen (Germany) (DVD title) [de]

MPAA:

Rated R for violence/gore, some disturbing images, nudity and language.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

Spain | UK | Bulgaria

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Portugal:M/18 | Australia:MA | France:-12 | Peru:18 | Argentina:16 | UK:15 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Netherlands:16 | Finland:K-18 | Singapore:M18

Filming Locations:

Sofia, Bulgaria

Company:

Castelao Producciones

Trivia:

A few weeks before the production started Richard Stanley came in to rewrite the final production draft with director 'Nacho Cerda' because Karim Hussain was in Montreal preparing La belle bête (2006).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Marie and Nicolai enter a room for discussion, she places a box in front of the door after closing it. After the discussion, Nicolai goes to the door and opens it, but the box is not there.

Movie Connections:

Features Arachnid (2001)

Soundtrack:

Surfacing

Beautiful, complete and utter brilliance

This movie instantly rose to the very top of my scary movie list. I have always been a fan of scary movies, however the misuse of suspense and gore has always bothered me. So many movies these days will rush a scene or a plot string by killing people off, breaking the suspense too soon, or simply by cutting away to somewhere else. This movie was a huge exception to the norm, the writers pinned down their monsters, their characters, and their plot to a T. The suspense was executed with such finesse, such perfection, that I left the movie both shaken and amazed. The filming style, using strong angles without overusing zoom and focus, instead focused on the whole composition of a shot. Even the first person scenes, where the camera is moving violently in all directions were controlled and limited. As far as the plot goes, the writers clearly weren't aiming for the meaty plot of any contemporary American horror film, they reached for the brutish nature of suspense, and it left the viewers helpless to any and every twist the writers could muster. This movie is utter brilliance.