Abandoned is not your average horror film. It comes with its fantastic character development, and sensitive subject of mental health , postpartum depression. Pop Style TV’s Lauren Conlin spoke to John Gallagher Jr. about the film, and why people should watch. He too, was in awe of the great Michael Shannon, and agreed with us that Shannon’s acting is always on point!
Abandoned follows lives of Sara (Emma Roberts), her husband Alex (John Gallagher Jr.), and their infant son as they move into a remote farmhouse, which harbors a dark, tragic history. As their home’s past is revealed, the mother’s fragility escalates to a state of psychosis that jeopardizes her own safety and that of her newborn son. Michael Shannon doesn’t disappoint as the creepy neighbor either.
Directed by Spencer Squire, the film stars Emma Roberts (American Horror Story, Nerve), John Gallagher Jr. (The Newsroom), and Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire).
Lauren Conlin: Hey everyone. It’s Lauren Conlin from POP Style TV. I am with the adorable, bearded John Gallagher Jr. We are going to talk about his new movie Abandoned. Hey John.
John Gallagher Jr: How’s it going?
Lauren Conlin: So good. So good. Okay. So is honestly truthfully getting serious. Is America or the world’s ready for a movie that kind of dives into mental health a little bit.
John Gallagher Jr: Yeah. Why not? I say we’ve had a rough couple of years here. Let’s let’s put it all on the table. That’s my feeling about that
Yes, murder, haunted shit. Why not?
John Gallagher Jr: You know, nothing’s, you know, nothing should be off the table at this point. I think there’s nothing that we shouldn’t be able to, to deal with and cope with and discuss.
Lauren Conlin: Yeah. No. Okay. All right. I I’m, that answer will suffice for me. So back to the movie, I definitely wanted an R rating on this movie. I wanted a little bit, a little bit more because it was scary. Right? I was very scared. I mean, Michael Shannon is incredibly creepy. I can imagine. On screen with him, like, dude, just chill out, turn it off.
John Gallagher Jr: Right. Well, Michael he’s absolutely, uh, you know, he’s, um, uh, uh, um, an intimidating presence to say the least, you know, uh, I mean, I’ve known Michael for years. We did a play together actually, um, years ago. And so I know him really well. Thankfully if I had just been meeting him on this set, I think I would have probably, you know, sent myself home for the day because I would’ve freaked out.
Lauren Conlin: He’s very, very intense on screen where you have this. Um, you have like, uh, when you come into the picture, you almost feel like a comfort. You know what I mean? Like, you’re, you’re very good at, you know, well, you know what I’m saying? Right. Like it’s, it’s comforting when we see you around, because we just feel we’re on edge the whole time, you know, and then we see you and we’re like, okay, I feel a little bit better.
John Gallagher Jr: Um, my character is trying so hard to be a, uh, like a calming presence and to be nurturing and nourishing to his family and to take care of his wife and to take care of his child. And he is, I think kind of the, the, the beacon in the film that he’s striving the whole time to kind of do the right thing and keep everybody happy. It gets dicey and difficult for him in the end, but he definitely struggles to, uh, to be a caretaker.
Lauren Conlin: Yeah, I, you, your character reminds me of my husband when I had my first kid. I’m definitely, I’m looking at her and I’m like, Ooh, this is like really hard to watch because like, it’s weird. Like postpartum is so real for so many women and it’s very, it’s very taboo, you know, it’s kind of embarrassing in a way.
Like, you don’t want to talk about it. You don’t want. Say, like, I love my baby, but like I’m having these weird thoughts. Like, I don’t know what’s going on. And then to watch this movie, it’s kind of like, yeah, no, I’m good. I’m done having kids anyway, so yeah, but anyone have you, have you watched the movie start to finish?
John Gallagher Jr: I haven’t seen it in its entirety. No, I haven’t yet. No.
Lauren Conlin: Okay. I really, really liked it. You were going to love it. I thought it was like I said, I thought it was so scary. I wanted a little bit more, um, of the, the scare tactics, the, you know, the jumping out and stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And I’m a big fan now.
Yes. Now why would you tell people to come and see this movie with all the movies that are coming out now? And additionally, like it’s, it’s crazy. Movies are coming out every day because they’re, you know, they’re coming right to your TV. You don’t even have to go to the movie theater.
John Gallagher Jr: Yeah. And I would say that for anyone, uh, you know, I think what’s interesting about this film is that, uh, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s, uh, it’s, it’s not your typical traditional horror film. Like I would call it like a hard drama or a psychological drama thriller with horror elements. You know, it, it starts one way. You’re always thinking that you know, where the film is going, but it’s kind of constantly leading you down these strange you know, kind of dead ends and then subverting the genre and changing into like, almost like a different film without being manipulative.
Because I do think you, you want to feel like you’re kind of in Amma’s character’s headspace. And so there’s a point where you become very unsure of your footing in the film. And I just thought it was such a fresh and interesting take on the genre, obviously. I love all kinds of horror movies and I’ve done, I’ve done straight up slasher flicks flicks in the Sci-Fi or movies and roast out kind of blood, blood and guts, horror films. But I liked how this one kind of almost reminded me of like a character driven drama, uh, that just so happened.
Lauren Conlin: I agree with you not to interrupt you, sorry. But I do feel like they spent a lot of time on the characters, which I appreciate because a lot of the time, you know, these type of movies, we don’t get that.
Lauren Conlin: So, um, anyway, You’re awesome. I loved you in The Newsroom. I had such a crush on you in that, like, literally, I thought I liked you during Spring Awakening. Cause I live in Manhattan and I, I went to college here. I was a huge fan of you in that. Then I saw you in the newsroom and I was like, oh, um, but yeah, you’re lovely. You’re a lovely person. Thank you so much.
John Gallagher Jr: My pleasure. Thanks so much for taking the thank you for watching the film and for talking to me, of course, by.
The Orville Is Back With Anne Winters and Jessica Szohr
