Product Details

• Actors: Karel Roden, Paraskeva Djukelova, Valentin Ganev, Anastasia Hille, Carlos Reig-Plaza
• Directors: Nacho Cerdà
• Format: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Lions Gate
• DVD Release Date: June 19, 2007
• Run Time: 98 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000OY9V9S
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,133 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

An American woman searching for her birth parents learns she has inherited a house in the middle of a forest in a remote area of Russia. It is the house where she was born. Abandoned and uninhabited for 40 years, it stands in total disrepair and neglect. What she finds is more than an old house. She meets a mysterious man claiming to be her twin brother and together they find the house holds dangerous secrets to a past they don't even remember. They are forced to relive a series of horrifying events and shocking murders that occurred just after they were born, and in the place where they were supposed to die.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Deal, June 25, 2007

By	Mangy Fox "dreadlock goddess" - See all my reviews

I didn't know what to expect when I put in the Abandoned. 2 other movies from the horrorfest that I'd watched were good, but not great. Also the older protagonists were a welcome change from the usual teenage/early 20's players that are the formula these days.
The setting is the creepiest house you've ever seen. I was scared as soon as the main character arrives on the grounds of the old family house she has inherited. This was one of the few movies that actually had me hiding under the covers as I watched.
The story was unsettling, the direction and cinematography were excellent. I loved it.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Death never runs out of time..., June 12, 2007

By	Staci L. Wilson "Author: Animal Movies Guide ... (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Abandoned reminded me quite a bit of an Asian film called The Echo (aka, Sigaw) -- and a few others; it's nothing new in the genre, but aside from a severely sagging midsection, the horror and suspense aspects are far from, er, abandoned by first-time director Nacho Cerdà. This is no doubt a low-budget film with a lot of spoken supposition, running and hiding; however, when the creatures are shown, they don't disappoint. The makeup is well-done, and special effects are wisely kept to a bare minimum.

The gloomy, yet sharply rendered imagery from cinematographer Xavi Gimenezs (The Machinist) adds to grim terror experienced by our protagonists, as does the jangling dissonance of the original score by Alfons Conde.

While I will admit I was pretty bored during the middle of the movie (I don't mind when things get talky, but nothing new was added to the suspense via the dialogue), it rallies in the end and has a satisfying, fittingly unsettling conclusion.

Staci Layne Wilson

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great direction and atmosphere can't save a script that feels "Abandoned", January 20, 2008

By	D. Wilson "SonRisedInTheEast" (NY by way of Cali) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)

I don't know what exactly happened here? When the After Dark Horror Fest was announced I was incredibly excited, especially when it came to The Abandoned. Helmed by Spanish director Nacho Cerda(the mind behind the disturbing and beautifully shot short films Aftermath and Genesis) and featuring a script co-written by Richard Stanley(writer/director of overlooked horror classics Hardware and Dust Devil), The Abandoned should have been amazing but... The story follows a woman on the arrival back to her birth place in Russia, where she seeks out answers from her mysterious past, however; her mysterious past seems to be searching for her as well. I'm sure the script was written deliberately slow as it allows for Cerda to create some fantastic atmosphere by chewing up the creepy scenery with long ponderous shots that do plant the seed of dread to come, unfortunately though, the buildup is wasted with an ending that doesn't deliver on scares or answers for what's been happening for the last hour and fifteen minutes. The end result is the most upsetting film from the already overly disappointing After Dark horror fest, and it's far from the worst of the batch, but it had so much potential and promise that it stands out the most. The cinematography and atmosphere are both great but then... nothing really happens? With some decent payoffs (or even payoff)the movie could be awesome... maybe a directors cut with added footage? As is, The Abandoned feels like it was written as another Cerda short film but was stretched in an attempt to create a feature length movie and it drags plenty to support that thought. Nacho Cerda is still a director to keep an eye out for in the future, just hopefully not attached to another script like this. If you see this at your local video chain store and for even a moment think about renting or buying it, you'd be better off leaving it on the shelf... abandoned.