The Abandoned (2015)
Film · Thriller, Horror, Mystery
Stream it, ifif you enjoy claustrophobic, low-budget psychological thrillers that prioritize shadows and sound design over high-octane action.
A claustrophobic and dark horror-thriller that relies on atmospheric dread and the isolation of its setting to build suspense. It is a slow-burn mystery that prioritizes psychological unease over jump scares, suitable for fans of low-budget, high-tension genre films.
What it is about
A troubled young woman who, in a last-ditch effort at getting her life together, takes a job working nights as a security guard at an abandoned luxury apartment building. Stuck with a brusque rent-a-cop as her partner, she tries to not let her mind play tricks on her while she patrols the empty halls. But as the night progresses strange things begin to happen - and she realizes it may not all be in her head.
Trailer
What The Abandoned is like, and who it is for
What it is like to watch
Watching this film feels like a cold, lonely walk through a decaying tomb. The pace is deliberate and patient, leaning heavily on the oppressive silence of an empty luxury complex. It uses the gloom of its setting to create a constant sense of being watched, maintaining a high level of tension without relying on a frantic editing style. The intensity is internal, focused on the protagonist's fraying nerves rather than explosive horror.
Who it is for, and who should skip it
This is for viewers who appreciate a 'haunted house' atmosphere in a modern urban environment and don't mind a slow-burn approach. You should skip it if you require a high body count or frequent jump scares to stay engaged. The honest caveat here is that the film is extremely slight, occasionally feeling stretched even at its short runtime, and the central mystery relies on a trope that may feel familiar to genre veterans.
The right evening for it
It suits a late-night viewing when the house is quiet and you are in the mood for something dark and minimalist. It is a solid choice for a rainy evening when you want to feel a chill without committing to a complex or long-winded narrative.
Written by our AI from the facts on this page. It has opinions; it has not watched it.
How The Abandoned leaves you
One line on the mood it ends on, with no plot. Some people count that as a spoiler, so it stays hidden until you ask.
Expect to feel unsettled and perhaps a bit lonely, left with a lingering sense of melancholy that stays with you longer than the individual scares.
How The Abandoned ends
Spoilers. The whole ending, in a few lines. Nothing shows until you ask and then confirm.
Julia jumps into a contaminated reservoir to save Clara but is rescued by Cooper at the cost of his own life. After persuading a deformed girl to forgive her, the spirits allow Julia to leave the dormitory. However, the film reveals that the entire haunting was an internalised narrative occurring within Julia’s mind. Julia is in fact the deformed girl, who has been on life support since she was a child.
The figures she encountered were re-imagined from her reality: Cooper is her father, Dixon is her doctor, Jim is a patient, and Clara is her doll. The film ends with Julia flatlining and dying next to her grieving father, confirming that the terrors of Wellville were a reflection of her own tragic history and her current medical state.
Summarised by our AI from the plot section of the Wikipedia article, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. This summary is shared under the same licence.
Stills
Images from TMDB.
If you like this, try
Session 9 (2001)
the same sense of psychological decay within an expansive, abandoned institution
Last Shift (2014)
the isolated night-shift setting and escalating supernatural paranoia
The Innkeepers (2011)
the slow-burn focus on employees patrolling a quiet, potentially haunted building
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The Abandoned soundtrack
Music by Max Aruj
- 1Streak
- 2Open the Door
- 3Trapped
- 4Escape
- 5It's Not Your Fault
- 6Release
- 7The Abandoned
Album and songs from Apple Music.
Questions people ask
- Is The Abandoned a tense film?
- Yes. On Watchlist Boosted it is tagged Tense. A claustrophobic and dark horror-thriller that relies on atmospheric dread and the isolation of its setting to build suspense. It is a slow-burn mystery that prioritizes psychological unease over jump scares, suitable for fans of low-budget, high-tension genre films.
- How long is The Abandoned?
- The Abandoned runs 86 min and was released in 2015.
- Where can I watch The Abandoned in Australia?
- In Australia it is not included with any subscription service at the moment. JustWatch lists rental and purchase options.
- Where can I watch The Abandoned in the UK?
- In the UK, The Abandoned is included with Tubi TV (free), Plex (free).
- Who composed the music for The Abandoned?
- The music for The Abandoned is by Max Aruj. The soundtrack album, The Abandoned (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), has 7 tracks.
- What songs are on the The Abandoned soundtrack?
- The Abandoned (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) has 7 tracks, including “Streak”, “Open the Door”, “Trapped”, “Escape” and “It's Not Your Fault”, and more. It is on Apple Music.
- Is The Abandoned worth watching?
- It depends: if you enjoy claustrophobic, low-budget psychological thrillers that prioritize shadows and sound design over high-octane action. IMDb users rate it 4.8 out of 10 from 5,704 votes, Metacritic 38 and TMDB users 4.8.
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