ABATTOIR An investigative reporter works to solve the mystery behind a mysterious man who has been buying houses where tragedies have occurred.

Real estate reporter Julia Talben’s (Jessica Lowndes) spends her days reporting on what is understandably pretty basic stories of buying and selling properties. She is a sharply dressed girl with a particular fondness for 1940’s style complete with a gruff ex boyfriend who also happens to be a Detective, Declan Grady  (Joe Anderson). Julia is a career focused gal with no time to build a family of her own. Tragedy strikes when her sister’s family is brutally murdered and Julia returns to the crime scene, her sister’s home, for closure. Upon arrival She discovers that the room in which the murder took place has been deconstructed and physically removed from her sister’s home.

With her ex en tow Jessica investigates. Why would someone buy a home only to remove a room? A crackling mystery, and one that leads both Jessica and Declan to her hometown of New English. Here they find a town enrobed in darkness and fog. The citizens of the town stagger about like terrified zombies while the sheriff tries, in vain, to keep things quiet. Hidden in the town is the enigmatic Jebediah Crone and the secret behind  his fiendish creation, the Abattoir – a monstrous house stitched together with unending rooms of death and the damned.

The performances are all solid, if not a little forced. But let’s just come out and say that Lin Shaye is pretty much good in anything she does. Her portrayal of Allie is one of pathos and sympathy. Dayton Callie as Jebediah Crone also commands a forbidding  presence as the creator of this monstrous mansion of malevolent souls.

Once again, Director Darren Lynn Bousman helms a plot who’s ambitions test the limits of a constrained budget. He’s been here before with films like, The Devil’s Carnival 1 and 2, and Repo the Genetic Rock Opera but this time the film gives itself a chance to find its finale.  It would be interesting to see what would happen if this guy ever got a budget worthy of the scripts he chooses or if he chose to tell a smaller story. We are treated to a devious trail of blood and secrets that lead up to the major reveal in a script penned by Christopher Monfette. While there are spotty moments plot wise, we want to ignore them and continue to push on as the mystery is such an intriguing one. Finally, the art direction in this pic is on point. The big reveal of the Abattoir, along with the visualization of the spirits inside is simply put, perfect. I just wish we could see more.

Abattoir is a worthwhile jaunt into a murky world of murder, secrets, supernatural, and ghosts. It’s not perfect but it doesn’t suffer too much because of its limitations.