THE SCREAMS ARE REAL

WORLD PREMIERED @ EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

OFFICIAL PANORAMA IN COMP SELECTION @ SITGES
US PREMIERE @ SCREAMFEST LA

“IT SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF ME”
MIKE MUNCER,
EVOLUTION OF HORROR.

“INNOVATIVE AND IMMERSIVE”
KEVIN MCCARTHY
ONFILM PODCAST

“Creeping, claustrophobic… an unnervingly assured nightmare!”
JED SHEPHERD, writer & PRODUCER of HOST

“cinematic, controlled and emotionally grounded”
BSC British Cinematographer

The Story

Chasing a viral video to save their channel and friendship, two urban explorers break into a derelict facility scarred by sinister experiments.
Trapped among its secrets, they enter a nightmare where history manifests as evil.

Production still from the hybrid found footage horror film Abandoned, featuring protagonist Jess staring at a "Do Not Enter" sign as the film's mystery and psychological tension begin to unfold.

Atmospheric production still from the found footage horror movie Abandoned, showing character Adam exploring a dark hallway as mystery and suspense unfold.

Chilling production still from the hybrid found footage horror film Abandoned, featuring character Sadie in a prison cell during a tense horror sequence.

Brought to life by a tight-knit, UK-based crew, Abandoned is a highly immersive hybrid found-footage film. After months of rehearsals on-location inside an old Napoleonic fort-turned-prison complex, it was filmed across ten intense days with the crew sleeping on-site in cells of their own.

As a hybrid film, atmospheric cinematic sequences book-end the raw handheld bulk of the narrative, taking us to and from the moment the characters turn their cameras on. To create a sense of realism in this central found-footage section, the set was a live theatrical environment for the actors to explore over long takes, with redacted script details keeping them in a space of honest, unscripted tension.

The PROCESS

Behind-the-scenes image of the clapperboard on location in the forest during production of the hybrid found footage horror film Abandoned.

Behind-the-scenes look at the video village during production of Abandoned, where the crew watches a cinematic long-take sequence unfold in this found footage horror film.

⁠Production still from the rehearsal process of Abandoned, showing director and cast rehearsing a scene in this found footage horror film.

The MESSAGE

At the risk of cliché, Abandoned is more than just a film. It is a proof-of-concept for the future of independent filmmaking. As a completely original IP, it proves that a micro-budget can achieve incredibly high production value when a resourceful, hyper-efficient production model ensures the money goes where it belongs. On the screen.

True independence is sustainability. Every crew member on Abandoned owns a piece of it through a points-based earning system, allocating a percentage of the film’s profits to each member of crew based on their input. As well as this, baked into this model, there is an ‘Indie Pot’, where all remaining profit from the film will be reinvested to finance and champion the next wave of ambitious indie films.

⁠Sadie cries alone in a prison cell in this eerie production still from Abandoned, a found footage horror film exploring psychological distress.

Tense argument between the main characters in this production still from Abandoned, an independent hybrid found footage horror film.

Moody production still from Abandoned, a found footage horror film, featuring an operating theatre central to the story.

DIRECTORS STATEMENT

Abandoned is a horror made to immerse. Shot entirely on-location with a crew over one intense week, it stretched indie filmmaking into new ambitious territory. As an original IP, Abandoned was born out of my desire to bring something fresh to the genre, whilst working with a production model where all crew members have a stake in the success of the film.

Once our characters reach the building, the nightmare unfolds second-by-second, without relief, as they explore the maze-like building. It wasn't simply a technical challenge, but about creating a constant pace and sense of deepening immersion, where the characters and their responses felt very real.

At its heart, the film is rooted in the fraught relationship between two friends. Abandoned only scratches the surface of the mysterious Morbex Corporation, creating an atmosphere that builds and builds to moments of unforgettable terror.

Joby Stephens