The movie concerns a unstable struggling young woman named Streak, who is desperate to get her life back on track by taking a job as a security guard at an abandoned apartment building. But on her first night on duty, she discovers a horrifying presence lurking deep within the bowels of the decaying building.
Just when you think this IFC Midnight flick will slide into an effective genre track, it flies off the rails in spectacular fashion, getting more unbearable and ridiculous all the way up to its closing minutes.
Rockaway has created a genuinely eerie and intimate ghost story with The Abandoned, rising above many of the usual supernatural tropes to create something powerfully unconventional.
The Abandoned is a steadfast and creepy haunted flick, until the final five minutes sink the entire production. It'll work for some, but sadly not for most.
Two second-act revelations alter its tired dynamic for the better, but those changes are undone by cheap scares and a climactic revelation that's more ho-hum than horrifying.
I was somewhat dissatisfied with the ending, but that sort of thing is subjective, and I encourage everyone to watch The Abandoned to judge for themselves.
If you've ever wondered why studios treat this month like a celluloid landfill, The Abandoned presents a compelling case study on its own lack of merit.
