The haunted house subgenre of horror may be done to death, but there are still surprisingly unique ways to make the tired set-up feel fresh. Abandoned tries to revamp the haunted house film, but, unfortunately, doesn't stick the landing. Abandoned takes the theme of postpartum depression and applies it to a horror story involving spirits in an old house, but the ideas never come together to make a complete whole. Nothing is ever fully realized here, and it all feels like the filmmakers wanted to try different things at once, but we're worried it wouldn't work. Hence, they pulled back, resulting in an underdeveloped and vague film that does not contain a fully cohesive story.

Directed by Spencer Squire from a script by Erik Patterson and Jessica Scott, Abandoned follows Sara (Emma Roberts) and her husband Alex (John Gallagher Jr.) moving into an old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere with their infant son. The house has a dark history, which involves the death of a new mother. While living in the house, Sara has trouble connecting with her baby and starts seeing ghostly visions. Sara will soon be forced to have to uncover the mystery of her new home or face losing everything.

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Abandoned Bed

Abandoned starts off showcasing every haunted house cliché in the book. The film mirrors many others that have come before it and is also visually fairly plain and standard. However, it seems a mystery is brewing as the runtime goes on, which seems like it will pay off in the end. By the end of the film, however, none of the questions that are raised throughout are answered, and audiences are given an ending that feels more sappy than conclusive. The movie easily could have tied all of its themes together and delivered a worthy payoff, but instead, everything feels like it was all for nothing.

Abandoned lacks suspense throughout, as well. There will be chunks of runtime where Sara just wanders around the house, trying to form a connection with her son, but nothing happens that adds to the overall story. When something that is meant to be frightening occurs, loud bombastic music plays, trying to indicate that the scene is extremely out-there and unsettling when in reality, it's actually quite mild compared to scares in other films. The biggest problem really seems to be that the movie doesn't know what it is. If it was more of a straightforward drama about a mother struggling with postpartum depression, it could have worked. However, as it is now, the supernatural elements muddle the drama, which seems to be at the forefront of the film, whether that was intentional or not.

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The biggest strong point in this film is Emma Roberts in the leading role. The American Horror Story alum gives it her all here, successfully portraying a woman who is struggling with something very real and tackling it with authenticity and finesse. Her dedication to the role is evident when her face says so many words without her mouth ever moving. Roberts' ability to showcase the many sides of Sara makes this one of her strongest roles. Unfortunately, the movie itself doesn't support her strong work. Also, Roberts is the only actor here who isn't wasted, with talented performers like Michael Shannon given hardly anything to do.

Abandoned is a run-of-the-mill haunted house flick on the surface that attempts to add elevation with metaphors but ends up creating a confused and undercooked story. The film falls apart by the end partly because it doesn't fully commit to being either a predictable haunted house movie or a metaphorical modern thriller. Overall, aside from a strong leading performance from Roberts, Abandoned feels as empty as its title would suggest.

Abandoned will be released in limited theaters on June 17 and digitally on June 24.