Abducted

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.

There is good tension and interest throughout Abducted. Thanks mainly to a rational script that doesn't have people falling to pieces for dramatic purposes, very good actors and a perfectly synchronised soundscape, not to mention a reasonably original story, together with excellent editing that keeps things moving forward (so necessary in hostage/abduction dramas), and attention is guaranteed throughout. Without giving anything away there are at least two great drivers, the need to escape, and the need to understand the mystery. Evidence of bizarre medical techniques certainly adds a desperate chill. I won't compare Abducted to other movies as that might be construed as a spoiler. Suffice to say that Abducted could well be, to date, in a class of its own.

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.

This was a very suspenseful low budget film, with realistic acting and (bonus), all the women didn't look like fashion models. We never really knew, what was going on, but could only surmise. I found the ending rather disappointing, but I still enjoyed the rest of the movie. It's not a great film, but I found it, as good as, some pathetic Hollywood "Blockbusters", which "mysteriously" get high scores on this site, even though most of the reviews are poor. I think, that Hollywood insiders must stack the ratings for their big money films, while other smaller films with mostly good reviews, get very low scores. Always rely on the reviews, not the score, as your guide to films, I'd advise. This film has a mysterious atmosphere and sympathetic characters, which I find always important.