Filmmakers have been trapping their characters in confined spaces for decades, elevating the tension of classics like 12 Angry Men and Rear Window sky high.  The success of these films, and modern favorites such as Locke and Buried, hinges on the suspense and engagement they can maintain within their limited surroundings.  Reduce the cast size, and the location becomes both a worthy adversary and trusted companion, creating a claustrophobic challenge for a director looking to put a spin on the psychological thriller genre.    

Though it draws inevitable comparisons to Vincenzo Natali’s 1997 Canadian cult classic Cube, The Abandon enters the arena as a modest yet intriguing effort.  Written by Dwain Worrell and hitting select theaters on July 19 before becoming available on demand on July 30, The Abandon may lean less into terror and rarely relies on flashy set pieces. However, its focus on an atmospheric character-driven narrative is admirable. Lacking the horror overtones and ambitious scope of Natali’s wickedly clever mystery, director Jason Satterlund’s scaled-back approach occasionally works in the film’s favor, allowing for a more intimate exploration of its hero’s psyche. 

One moment, U.S. soldier Miles Willis (Jonathan Rosenthal) is engaged in combat on an Iraqi battlefield facing enemy fire, but after seeing a blinding white light, he wakes up in a perplexing cube with no doors or windows.  How did he get here?  Where is here?  With only his gear to protect him, Miles faces a series of escalating dangers as the cube shifts, contracts, and unleashes a host of other torments to keep him (literally) off balance.  When cryptic inscriptions appear on the walls as clues, Miles attempts to piece together a puzzle with no set shape.  However, Miles may not be as alone as he thinks because his satellite phone connects him with Damsey Robins (Tamara Perry), who turns out to be a fellow prisoner trapped in a similar cube.  As the two work together to unlock an enigma, time and trust become precious as they unravel the cube’s true purpose.

Carrying the lion’s share of The Abandon‘s screen time, Rosenthal delivers a commendable performance that captures the soldier’s growing desperation, tangled confusion, and his fleeting moments of hope.  The at times overly complicated script may occasionally leave him dangling for where to go next.  Still, his ability to convey a range of emotions throughout the 98-minute film is engaging enough to keep viewers sticking around to see how it turns out.  Relegated to voice work, Perry does what she can to give Damsey some personality despite her physical absence. Still, there’s something robotic in the tone of the recorded pitch of her voice, often robbing it of the emotional heft the role requires.

The stark, bare-bones production shows how well Satterlund can maximize limited resources.  The cube in The Abandon never entirely becomes a character in itself (like Natali’s did), but it does come to represent a deteriorating mental state.  This creates a psychological dynamic demonstrating considerable ingenuity that, along with practical effects, bolsters the tension in short bursts.  It’s never wholly effective, but there are stretches when the film is chugging along nicely.  

Cinematographer Ray Huang has the unenviable task of making the space feel increasingly oppressive without suffocating the audience’s attention.  It’s generally effective, with altered angles and shifts of light cleverly used to imply that Miles has moved to a different place in the cube.  Geoff Koch’s score is more than a tad generic. Even so, it competently heightens the impact of critical moments without overwhelming the narrative, which takes a dramatic turn into unexpected territory toward the end.  This pivot demands a more developed exploration that The Abandon isn’t entirely equipped to handle, leading to a final act that’s a mixed bag of success. 

A showcase of resourcefulness that can’t quite stick the landing, The Abandon is an intriguing idea that struggles to justify its runtime.  For those patient enough to stay with it, the film finds a worthwhile inlet to the horrors of mental and physical confinement.  If you are seeking more cohesive entertainment, proceed with caution.