Abandoned

Both the storyline and the acting pick up as the movie goes on, thankfully. I gave it a seven which might be generous, because it would've been better had the movie kept the momentum throughout. There were a few times I was ready to give up early on, and I imagine others will be, but it's worth sticking with it.

Some of the acting was weak, but some of it gets better as the movie goes on, and the story starts to compensate.

Possibly the worst aspect of the movie was the main lead's make up. I have never seen ANYTHING so shockingly bad! (except Hush-hush Sweet Charlotte, but that was intentional and tied in with the character's persona). That make up crew (Simon Monjack, Claudia Londoño) ought to be fired. Seriously, I just could not take my eyes off her face for the entire movie because it was so appalling, and I was trying to figure out what on earth technique they were using that made it turn out so awful. Totally unprofessional.

Her real-life death was tragic. Also sad her last movie was direct-to-video. It's a decent-to-good movie, but retreads grounds covered by many movies in the same genre. If it had struck out on it's own and paved new ground, or tried harder to be original the film could have been a better send-off for Brittany's career. All credit to the actress for a fine performance, especially considering she was gravely ill. It's far from Heath Ledger as Joker, but given the material she does a pretty good job. Interesting to note that she looked ill throughout the movie and I don't think it was an intended look. At times she was ghastly, sunken face black rings around her eyes. According to Wikipedia she was severely anemic (losing blood) which explains her paleness and ghastly appearance. She was also suffering from pneumonia.

Dean Cain does a fine job of playing her mysterious boyfriend, able to play the good guy well and leave you wondering about his motivations because he has played villainous roles since his Superman days. Mimi Rogers plays the hospital administrator well making you wonder if she is part of a conspiracy or just doing her job. Overall, this is pretty much a mystery and thriller movie. The downside is once the mystery is revealed (and it is done a bit too soon in my opinion)then it begins to retread many movies of the same vein, once I saw the big "reveal" everything that came after was standard formula and very predictable.

The movie is nice as a rental but I advise you rent it and not blind-buy it. If you like what you see it's a nice movie to have in a collection, not a must-buy, but if you like Brittany Murphy and want to own her last screen appearance then I recommend getting this. Had she not died it still would have been a decent movie, not great but worthy of seeing and maybe owning. I liked her outing in Across The Hall (and having just looked it up the rating for that was a 6 too but thought that was better than this). Maybe this is knocked down to a 5 because of a lack of originality and the acting in the latter half of the movie. I won't be surprised if the fan rating is higher based on her death.

It's a decent movie, but been rehashed plenty of times before (notably a lot of Ashley Judd 90's movies). It starts out well and keeps a good mystery going until one point in the film where you knew where everything was heading down a very worn path made by much better films like Double Jeopardy. Maybe I am overrating it due to the actress's death, but I kinda liked the movie. Read my review here -

http://www.movie-vault.com/reviews/abandoned-bluray/

Brittany Murphy existed in this. Her performance was great and the film isn't a bad film although it has been done too many times to stand out from the crowd. Its very cliché and been done so many times. From the off the film has you gripped and carries you along with enough intrigue to keep you watching. But what is distracting is the state of Brittany Murphy's health. Yes we all know this is her last film but you really need to watch this movie to know why. She is underweight, pale, sunken eyes and really bad lank hair. Why she wasn't in hospital instead of making this movie i will never know. Such a shame as she was really great in spite of her health problems in this film. Some things simply cannot be hidden by make up. RIP Brittany x

Brittany Murphy had that something special. A certain look, an allure, a presence. As the French say, a certain something I don't know what. You see it in this movie. It's a drama/mystery/suspense flick that for some reason went direct to video.

Brittany drops off her boyfriend (Dean Cain) at the hospital for routine, out patient surgery. Except when she goes to pick him up, no one seems to know anything about him. He's not in the computer, his doctor is on vacation, and no one recognizes his nurse's name. Brittany gives a very good performance as the increasingly worried girl friend, seemingly losing the only man she has really connected with in a long time, or ever. Someone who has been there for her, and now, despite her best efforts, she can't be there for him. Peter Bogdanovich is also good as the creepy psychiatrist who suspects Brittany is suffering from a mental break down, a suspicion fueled by her current high dose anti-depressant meds and an unlikely story reeking of paranoia.

Supporting cast include Mimi Rogers as the clueless hospital administrator, Jay Pickett as the police detective with his own issues who is still good enough to follow the clues to the end, and Scott Anthony Leet as the intimidating security guard. Each give a competent performance that is credible.

The suspense is "edge of your seat" quality, and you can not be sure of the ending until it happens. Some (including me) might think it fairly obvious based on the plot clues, but that part is only the beginning of the twists.

As Brittany's final performance, this one is good enough to make you want to watch again sometime. Ultimately, it makes you wish she had longer to show us what she had.

They should have burned the work print out of respect for B.M! This "movie" gets my pick for worst movie I have seen in 2010. I'm sorry, I really liked Brittany and hate to see this as the last thing she put out before her tragic death. The acting, the writing, the story, the lighting, the continuity...everything is just pathetic. Its completely low budget, or at least the quality of the work is. Save yourself the 2 hours, you'd be better off watching grass grow.

*I only write reviews for really amazing movies or REALLY horrible movies. This is my first review in years, if that helps you judge how awful this was.