The Abandoned

One of the writers of the film before the screening told his own personal horror story. The writer was/is staying at the Delta Chelsea a few doors down from where some people were murdered. At 5 am he was woken up by ETF cops banging on his door. the ETF cops in full gear with assault rifles. He was questioned if he heard anything and told to stay in his room. He stuck his head a while later and asked a cop what was going on and was told to watch TV. After flipping around he found the story about 2 Germans and one Switzer killed in the room next door. When the writer was escorted off the floor to a new room, the hallway is filled with policemen. On the walls of the hallway was smeared blood. This is the appropriate introduction to a horror film.

The Abandoned is a ghost story. An American film executive is lured to small town where she is told she has inherited a house. And if she isn't interested ine house,there she will information about her mother. The house is isolated deep in the countryside. She hires a truck to get there. Things then go bad.

This is a movie that is representive of international cinema. The dicrector is Catalan, the writers are English and Spanish, it is filmed in English and Russian set in Russia and shot in Bulgaria andon a Spanish soundstage.

If there is one disappointment for me is that the horror, the horror movie could have been set in almost any country or culture. Spoiler: The core of the horror is family murder, which could happen every where. I want to see a film that focuses on some the horrors spawned by the Czars, Lenin and especially Stalin. I have seen one horror film that directly dwells on Soviet horror, The Chekist. The Chekist is about the work of the secret policemen. So 90% of the film is executions.

There is an odd inconsistency at the heart of the film. Because of the policies of collectivization , the liquidation of the Kulaks and the general official attitude towards inherited wealth there is very little likelyhood that an estate, or farm would be held in probate for forty years. Or would be allowed to become heritable property. The set up is almost like those Nigerian scams that show up in your mailbox. "You have won, inherited, given, something large and valuable there is only a few fees and technicalities to go through before you recieve your stuff. And by way please sign some legal documents in language you don't understand."

What I learned: Always bring your own lawyer.