Some films by Bousman r really good while some r awfully bad. This falls in between because of the interesting concept. This film has elements of film noir, murder mystery, horror, supernatural, etc. but the finished product was kinda meh. Ther r various sub plots narrated very hastily with bad editing. Viewers may find it a bit hard to follow but not interesting to pause or rewind. There was no tension or shocking twist. Kinda predictable. When a journalist, (Jessica Lowndes) sister is brutally killed alongside her husband and son, she joins forces with local cop to find out what really went down. Lin Shaye is totally wasted. Jessica Lowndes lips r voluptuous n luscious. There is an Indian actress, Nargis Fakhri, almost resembling her with those luscious lips. Coming back to the movie, it was a disappointing exploration of a somewhat interesting concept. I don't know y i still want to check out its sequel. Fans of Night flier, Collector, Hellraiser may like this.

Atmospheric,beautiful, disturbing and creepy...I really wanted to love this film, because it has great elements. All of the people who say the dialogue was bad have clearly never read a Sam Spade novel or watched a lot of classic film noir. Abattoir could have been a cult classic, because of the way it marries a couple of different genres of detective fiction and horror, and pays homage to films typically beloved by people around the ages of the lead characters. The sound effects and music are truly unsettling, and who doesn't love the log lady?

HOWEVER...why? Why do they do the things for the man? This is a hideous flaw in the structure of the film, and makes the end a complete mess. Why is the mother more concerned about the happiness of this monster, than about herself or her children? Why did the entire town give their lives to him? What did he promise them? The payoff wasn't apparent. I know they wanted to avoid being trapped, but what was the initial reward, or the promise that he made them? There wasn't even the suggestion that he was especially alluring as a younger man, when he first came to the town. It really messed up the film for me, that the audience is insulted this way, that we are left without an explanation WHY...we know why he did it, but why did they?

'Abattoir' drew me into seeing it, with a cool poster/cover, an intriguing and quite creative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive.

It is sadly however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws are here present in those films, that to me was very weak, its worst elements being pretty awful, with a lot more wrong than right. 'Abattoir' is not great, or good, has a fair share of problems (fairly big ones too) and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. There are however a few decent, even good, qualities in 'Abattoir'.

Lets start with the positives. The scenery is atmospheric, likewise with the very nice way it's shot. The music is suitably spooky and quirky and doesn't distract at all from the atmosphere, while not exactly enhancing it.

Found too that 'Abattoir' started off fairly promisingly with a few effectively spooky moments.

However, the story does feel over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary it got. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their irritating and illogical decision making and behaviours insult the intelligence. Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it. The acting is also terrible, particularly from the lead actress.

Dialogue can be stilted and rambling while the pace is uneven, dragging in a lot of the second half and never is it exciting. Found too many the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness and the lack of tension and suspense. A lot of the film completely fails to make sense, both in underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations. The last third badly sags in momentum and the atmosphere completely falls flat.

In conclusion, very weak but not unwatchable. 3/10 Bethany Cox