Review of The Abandoned (2015) by Intuciic . — 05 Feb 2016

"The Abandoned", also known as "The Confines", is a 2016 film by first time director, Eytan Rockaway, and is released through IFC Midnight, C Plus Pictures, and Above the Clouds. It stars Jason Patric, Louisa Krause, and Mark Margolis.

After doing some research, I realized that this film was first viewed publicly last year at the Los Angeles Film Festival under the Screamfest banner, if I understand it correctly. Past Screamfest films have included.

"The Tale of Two Sisters", "American Mary", and the first "Human Centipede", so this film is in interesting company.

This film starts off rather well. We follow Julia, played by Krause, as she gets a new job as a night guard at an expansive building in what looks like New York City (I might be wrong with this). She works alongside Cooper, played by Patric, a man who is not the kind of co-worker you would like. To say they don't hit it off is an understatement, but they reach some sort of weird respect for lack of a better term right as an old man named Jim, played by Margolis, and his dog beg to be let inside for the night as he is a homeless man. Then we're off.

This film, at first was an enigma to me. I highly respect the performances in this very low budget affair, especially from the aforementioned three leads. Also, Rockaway knows how to drag scenes out long enough where I started to feel a good amount of tension, and the addition of a minimal orchestration added to the mood.

On the other hand, the script started out using some cliches, mostly from psychological horror films that takes place in a single environment. This film plays homage in some aspects. We see handprints on the wall a la "The Blair Witch Project", a singular woman walking around dilapidated areas a la "Silent Hill", and some shots that even remind me of "Nospheratu".

So even with the cliches in the script, I feel that the performances and the great tension building scenes in the first half of this film really rise it above most blockbuster horror films, and I applaud it for that. If this was the film, I'd say you should definitely check this thing out if you are a horror aficionado. However, I was not ready for what the second half had in store, and that will be explained in my spoiler section below.

OKAY HERE ARE WHERE THE SPOILERS START, SO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. I'LL TELL YOU WHEN IT'S SAFE.

Okay so at like the 49 minute mark, the film looks to have jumped off a cliff when the old man Jim gets levitated by an unknown being. On first viewing, I was very disheartened because I had been pretty impressed as of that moment and didn't think that this was going to just turn a sharp corner that abruptly.

Then we find out the basement of this lavish establishment used to be a horrifying mental institution. THAT EXPLAINS THE KID'S HANDPRINTS.

And further more, Cooper starts essentially taunting Julia by showing her he knows that she uses medication for some yet to be discovered psychological reason. Julia explains that the medication is because she told a doctor that she can "see and hear things". If she doesn't take the medication, she will lost her daughter. That's an interesting reason...

So it seems as if this four minute span undid the good will it had built up with me, and I can't lie, it was really messy. But then I watched the last 10 minutes, and all was forgiven. So we find that old man Jim has been killed, and we're guessing that he was killed by the ghosts. Then this young boy ghost comes up to Julia and tells her that they are not going to let her ever leave and leads her to an area where we see tons of ghost patients.

What follows is something I cannot explain at all. We see that Julia's daughter, Carla, has been brought to this place and is dropped in a huge tank of water. Then I started adding some things up in my head. You can think this scene as if Julia has completely lost het mind. And with that being said, Carla being dropped out of reach symbolizes that Julia is unfit as a parent. That's a pretty thoughtful revelation for this movie to make.

Right after this moment, we take a page out of "Amityville Horror" as things are flown everywhere. I think this shows that Julia's mental state has all but deteriorated. Items are flown throughout the rooms and Julia is seemingly locked in the insanity of her own mind. However, we have one more twist as the ultimate revelation is revealed. We ultimately discover that this whole film has taken place in the final thoughts of a dying, comatose Julia. And as she finally dies, we find out that her father is Cooper. Mind blowing.

This is a movie that really, truly surprised me. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a film that isn't afraid to go to places that most horror films aren't willing to do. And while there are some shoddy plot elements in the second act, particularly that four minute span, I gotta have respect for this movie for trying something new.

3.2/5.