Looking for a Good Scare? Try 'The Abandoned'!

I imagine we've all reached that stage when horror movies are not at all scary, where we can honestly say that we've seen all there is to be seen in movies of this type. Nothing surprises us anymore and this is due almost entirely to the fact that directors today seem to limit themselves to clich�s, without bringing something new to their movies.

Today's horror movies are appreciated only for their special effects, for their soundtracks, for the way in which they are shot. Why is that?, one might ask. It's because the movies as a whole offer nothing else aside from that... there is nothing original in them anymore.

Enters one Spanish director that is so good that he absolutely shames the so-called Hollywood ones. The 'After Dark Film' Festival made its annual list of '8 Movies to Die For' and Nacho Cerda's 'Los Abandonados' ('The Abandoned') was named among them. Aside from that, said film was also picked for an US limited release, on February 23rd but make sure you bring someone to hold your hand if you plan on seeing it.

The plot of 'The Abandoned' centers on an American film producer, Maria, who finds out that her birth mother died in bizarre circumstances. Because she was adopted, she never got to know the woman who gave her life so, naturally, she wants to find out more about who she was, how she was like, where she lived and why she died. In order for her to do that, she has to fly to her native country, Russia, to her mother's house.

Without spoiling the movie too much, suffice it to say that there is an old, decrepit and devilish house involved, a twin brother Maria never knew she had, and lots of twists in the story to make you stand on the edge of your seat all throughout its 96 minutes of runtime. Aside from the fact that the story comes full circle at the end in a somewhat unoriginal way, there are enough elements that make 'The Abandoned' worth watching.

The actors (Anastasia Hille, Karel Roden) deliver breathtaking performances, there is a prevailing eerie feeling that will not allow you to say, like the rest of the times, 'I knew this was coming' or 'Oh, I've seen this before', the script is almost flawless, and so is the director's take on it. Add to that the prerequisite share of violence and gore, the rich imagery and lots of truly surprising twists in the plot, and you have one of the best horror movies of the past couple of years.

The full trailer is HERE.