Director – Mark W. Curran (Poe: In His Own Words)
Starring – Sarah Nicklin (Nun of That, The Witching Hour), Judith O’Dea (Night of the Living Dead, Hole in the Wall), and Christopher Parker
Release Date – 2015
Rating – 1/5
Tagline – “Don’t get left behind”
I’m a huge fan of Wild Eye Releasing. Friends and family hear me go on about them just as much as I talk about Troma. Wild Eye has released some of my favorite indie flicks in recent years and has earned a loyal fan in me. With that being said, Wild Eye has released a few films here and there that just did not go over well with me. I understand the risks and challenges associated with not having a budget but sometimes this films just fall short because they lack passion or heart.
Sometime ago Wild Eye released the 2015 supernatural Abandoned Dead starring one of my indie crushes Sarah Nicklin. I went into this one with high hopes but quickly realized that this one was not for me.
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows security guard Rachel (Nicklin) who is sent to work an abandoned medical facility that has long been rumored to be haunted. Rachel is afraid of the dark but accepts the responsibility as part of her job. Her shift doesn’t go as normal as she would have liked when supernatural entities present themselves along with a knife wielding maniac that may not even exist.**Spoiler alert**
I wanted to like Abandoned Dead for several reasons. I love Wild Eye and Sarah Nicklin is an amazing actress but the film failed to bring something to the table that I could enjoy.
The acting in this one is inconsistent among the cast. Sarah is a one person show throughout most of the film. She does the best with her character that she could but it is a very one dimensional performance. Her character is very flat and generic. The supporting cast suffers the same fate but on a much smaller scale. Even the cameo from Night of the Living Dead’s Judith O’Dea is very underwhelming.
The story for this one is extremely slow paced and uneven. The more interesting parts do take place in the last 15 minutes but the movie is ridiculously long especially when you consider how drawn out the scenes are. The story could be told in 30 minutes or less instead of the feature length running time we were given.
Finally, this is not a bloody one but the film does focus on imagery. We don’t get a lot of gore but the supernatural entities look fantastic along with superb camerawork. The suspense is there but the story is lacking. Overall, Abandoned Dead is a shot in the dark that misses the mark. They are able to pull together a solid cast but the story just didn’t go the distance. Wild Eye has dozens of films I would recommend but this is not one of them.
