Abducted (2013)

Too much of everything

The Age of Commercialism

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

A young couple are on vacation when they are shot with tranquillizer darts; they are abducted by persons unknown. Pretty soon they realize that they are in some sort of institution that's similar to a hospital, or a prison, or a research facility; we never really find out.Over the course of the film several other couples are introduced into the mix, each having been abducted from the same place. Each couple have their own stories and their own beliefs about what's going on, and each set of beliefs is completely different from every other couple.Although the abductors wear orange environment suits and gas masks, it becomes clear that they at least approximate human beings, and not little green men from space. However we never actually find out who/what they are.So what is the point of the film? This film is all about creating an atmosphere, and showing the slow exploration of the strange surroundings that the couple find themselves in. Days pass without incident, then there are periods where people are unconscious and then wake up with strange wounds or scars. The film creates a very claustrophobic atmosphere and doles out information slowly and intermittently. It eventually becomes clear that the building/complex/bunker/whatever is not in pristine condition. Does this rule out government involvement? The disconnection from one scene to the next works well. Did the couple just fall asleep and wake up, or were they drugged and more time has elapsed than they think, or were they drugged so that changes could be made to their cell and no extra time has elapsed. It's an evocative way of mirroring the fragmented nature of the captives new life.Whilst the film does an excellent job of creating a mystery about what is happening, there are a number of flaws.The first is a minor but jarring flaw: whilst most of the film follows the rules of the real world, the battery life on the mobile phones that everybody has can be measured in weeks rather than hours, and nobody comments on this extraordinary happen stance as they record daily videos, constantly check for a signal or text their captors.The major flaw in this film is that ultimately nothing is explained. There are a couple of scenes at the end of the film that give hints as to what's going on, but no explanations are provided. Whilst this may work for films like "2001: A Space Odyssey", Abduction doesn't have the gravitas to pull off a vague ending. This film needs a few scenes to explain more clearly what is, or might be, going on in California. Sadly, we don't get an explanation and the film doesn't deliver a satisfying experience because of it.

David (a solid and likable performance by Trevor Morgan) and Jessica (a winningly perky portrayal by the pretty Tessa Ferrer) are a young couple vacationing in the California woods who get kidnapped by masked abductors in Griffith Park. The pair find themselves imprisoned in a dark cell, where they are subjected to strange medical experiments and harrowing psychological torture. Writers/directors Glen Scantlebury and Lucy Phillips relate the tight and compelling story at a steady pace, build a considerable amount of claustrophobic suspense, and do a bang-up job of crafting a strong atmosphere of stark bleakness. Moreover, there's a genuinely intriguing (and unsettling) ambiguity to the basic premise; we never find out who exactly the abductors are and precisely what they are up to with their experiments. It's truly refreshing to see a low-budget indie horror picture of current vintage that not only doesn't explain everything, but also thankfully eschews both needlessly graphic gore and cheap scares as well. Morgan and Ferrer make for engaging leads; they receive sturdy support from Ross Thomas as angry and hyper-aggressive alpha male Buzz, Vivan Dugre as catatonic UFO nut Maria, Aidan Park as loopy nerd Elliot, and Doug Haley as scrawny teen Justin. Chuck Fay's spare shivery score hits the shuddery spot. Cale Finit's polished cinematography makes effective use of both shadowy lighting and a restless camera. A tidy little nail-biter.

I watched it on a whim and was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it. I was even interrupted with 20 minutes left of the movie. usually when this happens you (I) forget about the movie and rarely go back to finish. This one I completed. I just had to know what was going to happen at the end.Rating: 3/5 - because when you are dedicated to finding out what happens at the end of a movie then the writer has done something correct. I wrote all of that and then this site says I have to have at least 10 lines of "review" that's stupid. This is padding. but the padding is not complete because of now it not but it could really be but wow it is a good flick. just wow man. totally.

This is one of those movies that you continue to watch because you're curious about what is going to happen next.*********Spoilers Ahead (Don't say you weren't warned ********** Dave and Jessica are starting their vacation in California and on day one they are tranquilized and taken away to some unknown facility.Firstly, the acting was solid and thankfully the director decided to fore-go the typical "females must scream for no apparent reason other than to let everyone know they're afraid" style of thriller schlock.Clues and twists keep coming into play mostly through the introduction of new characters to the movie and finally we get to realize that one of the pair of young couples that were abducted were on the right path.The ending leaves the watcher wondering more about what they THINK they have determined and wondering what happens next rather than tying it all up with a pretty ribbon and leaving the viewer satisfied.As the previous reviewer has stated, they did a lot better with their obvious low budget than many of the big budget studio flicks have done lately and hopefully these talented people will put some more out there.If you haven't seen it yet, please enjoy because it is worth the watch.