The flaws in this indie film are too obvious to belabor. Suffice to say that you should not expect to witness anything approaching Oscar winning or nominated acting, writing, directing, etc. But this, with rare exceptions, is what one should expect in what is obviously a low- budget production. It comes with the territory. So, if your central purpose in watching an indie film is to indulge a desire to carp and criticize, you easily will find faults in this film. However, if you are among those who subscribe to the standard of criticism enunciated long ago by none other than the undying Master of the Macabre, Edgar Allen Poe, you may discover redeeming signs of life in Abandoned Dead, which while not on the sublimely sinister level of any of Poe's classic creations, is in a consanguineous vein. The Procrustean 1,000 word limit for this present review precludes anything but a rough paraphrase of Poe's dictum: A creation should be judged on whether the creator accomplished what he set out to create. Judged by this standard, the film leaves a favorably impression of what Mark Curran, who happens to have produced a one-man "Poe" show presently on stage, while doing this other one man show as Producer/Writer/Director of Abandoned Dead, managed to squeeze out of a tight indie budget. His promising script explores dark, twisted psychological mine-shafts, and he wastes no precious production money on the gratuitous goo and gore that spray the sets of cheap thrillers. That he managed to cast (sans the services of a casting director) a few quite capable actors among the miscast misfits that somehow manage to make unseemly appearances in practically every indie film, is itself remarkable. Any indie film lover who has been thinking of having a go at production should first have a word with Mark Curran, who evidently knows how to do a lot with a little. In sum, while this film is by no stretch a nine or ten as some apparent partisans proclaim, neither is it a one or two as some slag-slingers say. All things considered in the indie genre, it is a solid six or even a seven.

Directed by Mark Curran, Abandoned Dead is a pretty great suspense thriller. When first watched as a horror film, I would have rated this lower, but despite the name and couple of goryish scenes, it's more of an introspective look into the life of a security guard who is working an extra shift, and has to deal with some psychological mystery surrounding the place she is guarding. There is some nice camera-work and lighting, some good acting, and everyone involved did a great job from cast to crew. Sarah Nicklin does a great job as the main character Rachel, who plays the security guard the movie focuses on. The atmosphere was great for what they were trying to accomplish with this film. I would definitely give this a watch if you are into suspenseful thrillers, and keep an eye out for more films from Mark Curran and team.

If you are not too cynical with every little detail, you will realize Mark Curran's Abandoned Dead is actually an overall decent work. To comment without spoiler, I must say the plot is overall simple. A very sacrificing and responsible police officer Rachel Burke is positioned as a guard in an inner-city rehab center. But things do not go as they are supposed to and the watch turns into a sinister end.The film was good enough to keep me terrified for a good extent of time. The main relief was that its simple and beautiful in its simplicity. Some horror films are all just sound manipulations. Abandoned Dead didn't betray me in this way. This is not all. The most amazing thing is how it switches the whole category of this film switches at the end. The whole plot takes a shutter-island like twist and the semi-zombie abandoned-house film turns into a psychological thriller. Adding more information will destroy your pleasure of watching it.Well, it is definitely not a flawless work, I must say. In some of the scenes, the dialogues sounded a little forced and speedy to me. The use of full healthy sentences are not the usual way people talk. Most of the time, we use fragment expressions. Another thing is some horror clichés, doors shutting down, and furniture moving on their own like stuff. Maybe, we've made so many horror films already that they keep coming back.To conclude, I want to say that I myself was a cynical at first before I started working on my first film project. I started to realize that its not easy to get your things together as you make and learn at the same. People make watchable videos in their first try. Compared to that, I must say Curran scored and he scored very well.

Abandoned Dead is a suspense thriller that revolves around the chilling incidents experienced by a female security guard Rachael Burke in Mayfield Addiction Clinic. Movie starts with Rachael talking to her girlfriend Sara on a phone call while driving home. At first Abandoned Dead seems like every other ordinary movie but things really start to speed up once Rachael reaches the Addiction clinic she is supposed to watch over for the night. The fact that Rachael suffers from the fear of night makes the movie even more interesting.Mayfield Addiction Clinic seems like every other average clinic but once Rachael is left alone in the place, the clinic turns into the spookiest place on the earth. The first heart-stopping moment arrives when Rachael is sitting in her car outside the clinic gazing at the clinic board and Anna suddenly knocks on her car window.Chilling and intense story twists will keep you hooked towards Abandoned Dead till the very end. Although the movie is extremely startling and terrifies audiences in the most unexpected way still there are various points that will keep you confused till the end. For instance, the fact that why Rachael dreaded nighttime unravels when the audiences get to know about the trauma she suffered in her childhood.Things start to get really mysterious once night gets deeper. Rachael encounters the hidden secrets of her childhood wrapped in the evil attacks of the supernatural forces. Every time Rachael opens the door of the clinic gives you a mild heart attack because of the horrifying environment surrounding the clinic. The most gut- wrenching scene in the movie is where Rachael finds a dead and skinned cat on the doorstep of the clinic.Her encounter with a mysterious and rough looking guard is also quite interesting. Amongst the entire thrill, Abandoned Dead also presents you with a drop of humor. Facial expressions delivered by Rachael during the scene where a pizza delivery guy proposes her to have sex with him are truly amusing. At first, all the scenes with the detective seem extremely boring but after the movie unravels, Detective Phillip Haggis starts to make sense.The movie flows at an extremely fast pace and keeps you hooked till the end. Due to its creepy story-line and heart-stopping sound effects, Abandoned Dead is definitely not fit for heart patients.