The Abode starts in the 1800s. An evil pirate known as Redbeard (Chris Darsow) has come to annihilate an entire town, just because apparently he can. Next to him is his mistreated wife, Lara (Ariadna González), who dreams of having a better life full of romance, affection and small details that revive love every day. One day, Lara meets Talako (Montana Cypress), apparently the only survivor of the area exploited by Redbeard. They fall in love, live a momentary romance, until Redbeard discovers them, sends his wife to a convent, has Talako burned alive and, later, his wife takes her own life. Fast-forward 300 years into the future, which should be the year 2100 even though it looks like the 2000s, we witness the reincarnation of Lara– although she doesn’t know it, and presumably neither does the audience or they’re forced to pretend– and she feels an attraction to a certain place where she decides to go for a school project. She’ll begin to feel the presence of spirits aiming to help her– even when it looks like they want the worst and even act like it, too.

The previously detailed synopsis is enough to understand The Abode has a rushed complex-yet-absurd plot, without head or tail. There are few words to describe a fantastic first act that ends up being overshadowed by the lack of coherence in the text presented on the screen afterwards. The final product resembles the union of a short story with an awkward developed story leaving a sense of emptiness at the end.

The Abode could present fluidity in its ideas if it had focused the plot on a period. The details it presents during the first 30 minutes of introduction (yes, you’ve read right– it takes one third of the film to introduce the audience into a story that changes background and characters into another plot) are good enough to be defined as a film where love is sought to be avenged, instead of being defined as a plot where every 5 minutes a sort-of-surprise jumps in only to add vehicles to turn the story around things that were already supposed or seen coming from the underworld.

This is a product where its flaws bury whatever is relevant, and you might be left with the final kicks it tried to throw for the sake of shock. The antagonists switch back-and-forth, and some characters are questionable when the time-jump happens as we get to see them in a different light that pulls a gruesome eekie feeling– I keep thinking why future Lara (daughter) wanted to kill future Redbeard (father) if the roles where different and her only motive is to make a future generation pay for the crimes committed by people in the past, but she’s also part of a new generation being attacked by spirits looking for payback. This is where my brain melts into doubt.

If you’re looking for a movie just to hang out without questioning every salient detail, The Abode is the choice for that quiet day. You will probably have a group of followers who can justify the plot, and there will also be a group of haters saying “Avoid The Abode.”

2 OUT OF 10 DIARIES