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Abruptio is a 2023 American adult puppet horror film written, edited, and directed by Evan Marlowe. Produced by Kerry Marlowe, the film stars James Marsters, Hana Mae Lee, Christopher McDonald, Jordan Peele, Robert Englund, and Sid Haig in one of his final films before his death on September 21, 2019.
Abruptio had its world premiere online at the Santa Monica Film Festival on January 17, 2023, prior to its theatrical release by Anchor Bay Entertainment on September 27, 2024.
As Les arrives at Danny's house, Danny pulls out a gun and attempts to kill him, but hesitates and is unable to go through with it. As a result, the bomb implanted in Danny's neck detonates, killing him. Les then discovers a suitcase and receives a text message instructing him to open it at his office without informing anyone—under the threat of death. Upon opening the suitcase at work, a toxic gas is released, killing everyone in the office as Les escapes unharmed.
Les later arrives at a nightclub called Diamonds and Purrls, where he meets Sal Cheek, a struggling comedian whose act fails to amuse the audience. Like Les, Sal also has a bomb implanted in his neck. The two are subsequently sent to a suburban home where they are ordered to kill the family residing there. After carrying out the gruesome task, they receive a message instructing them to kill each other. In response, Les decapitates Sal with a shovel.
Afterward, Les is apprehended by a police officer named Dennis and brought to a station where he is interrogated by Police Chief Richter. Richter demands that Les "confess" to an unspecified crime, but when Les is unable to comply, he is strapped into a device known as "The Confessional" and subjected to electrocution. He later awakens on the side of the road with a piece of paper bearing the word "think."
Les then arrives at a warehouse, where he meets Clive, a sarcastic and abrasive English man. The two are instructed to rob a convenience store together. During the heist, Clive knocks Les unconscious, steals the money, and leaves him tied up and abandoned in the warehouse.
Later, a young woman named Chelsea arrives after being assaulted by a group of men. Les and Chelsea flee the scene and drive back to the house where the earlier killings occurred. As they begin to form a bond, Chelsea persuades Les to bury the family's bodies. During the process, Les discovers barcodes on both his and Sal's necks, revealing personal statistics and further suggesting they are part of a larger, orchestrated system.
Les later receives a message directing him to meet a man named Mr. Salk, a meticulous clean freak. The two are instructed to dispose of several dead bodies by throwing them into a set of large spinning blades. Among the bodies is Allison, Les's ex-girlfriend. Mr. Salk hesitates and is unable to complete the task, resulting in the detonation of the bomb implanted in his neck.
Les and Chelsea awaken to a song that Les recognizes, which is revealed to be emanating from Sal's body. Les cuts open Sal's stomach and discovers a USB drive inside. Upon plugging it in, the drive displays a combination of Egyptian hieroglyphs and binary code. Les then opens a nearby door, briefly revealing a surreal hellscape and a massive, alien-like creature before quickly shutting it. When the mysterious song begins playing again, Les, believing he may also have something hidden inside him, attempts to cut open his own stomach, but is stopped by Chelsea.
Les visits his doctor and recounts the bizarre events he has experienced. The doctor, believing Les to be delusional, commits him to a psychiatric facility. There, Les meets a nurse named Victoria. While exploring the hospital, Les discovers a hidden room where he witnesses a surgical procedure involving the implantation of a bomb into a patient.
Les eventually finds himself in a secretive location known as "The Colony," where women are being impregnated by aliens to produce alien-human hybrids. Disturbed by what he sees, Les instructs Victoria to destroy the alien eggs. However, one of the eggs hatches, and the emerging creature attacks Victoria as Les escapes from the colony.
Les and Chelsea travel to an abandoned amusement park called LA LA Joyland, a place Les remembers from his childhood. While exploring the park, Chelsea is knocked unconscious by Clive, who has returned and attempts to kill Les. Les hides atop the rollercoaster tracks and strangles Clive to death with a rope.
Afterward, Les encounters two alien beings. As he returns to his car, Chelsea—now implanted with a bomb in her neck—is compelled to kill him. Les, however, undoes the stitches on her neck, stunning her. He then steps through a mysterious door, which transports him back to his parents house.
Les discovers that his mother is harboring a brood of alien-human hybrid infants in the garage. He kills her with a pair of hedge shears and sets the garage on fire after dousing it with gasoline. Les is once again apprehended by Officer Dennis and brought back to Chief Richter.
Subjected once more to "The Confessional," Les experiences a flashback revealing that, while driving drunk, he struck and killed a biker. This incident prompted him to quit drinking and begin attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Satisfied with this long-suppressed confession, Richter releases Les.
Chelsea, revealed to have survived, reunites with Les. Richter suggests that the biker's family deserves to know the truth and Les and Chelsea share a kiss.
The film ends with Les back in his bedroom, calling 911 and preparing to confess his crime.
In a June 2020 interview, the film's director Evan Marlowe revealed that with "six years in, we're still not quite halfway done filming. We plan to pick up where we left off in the coming months." In August 2020, production resumed, with coronavirus safety protocols in place, including limited crew members. Filming wrapped on March 4, 2021, before post-production wrapped by March 2022. In August 2022, the film was completed. It only took 7 years but Abruptio is Done
Erik Piepenburg of The New York Times wrote the film is an "exceptional sociopolitical thriller that’s equal parts body horror exploitation flick, science-fiction survival drama and ultraviolent shoot-’em-up." David Gelmini of Dread Central wrote, "Viewers who are not perturbed by the use of human-sized puppets will commend Abruptio for its unique visual-style and its audacious premise. And those who are too perturbed by its irregularity will still find it too damn strange to completely ignore". Stephanie Malone writing for Morbidly Beautiful gave it 5 out of 5 butterflies, calling the film "the total package", while praising the story, character development and detail of the puppets. Anton Bitel, writing for Projected Figures, said the film "is a schizophrenic skedaddle from reality, reflected even in the heavily stylised medium that Marlowe has adopted, and ending with one hell of a hangover. The ensuing cavalcade of unease and wrong disturbs and repels, both in equal measure, and in the best possible way." Carla Davis of 1428 Elm called the film "a trippy, gory puppet horror masterpiece," particularly noting its visuals as "eye-popping" and the level of voice talent and writing which "takes it over the top." Jennie Kermode of Eye for Film gave a positive review, writing the film "stands out because of its format but has a strong narrative and smart ideas behind it". Alan French of Sunshine State Cineplex gave a positive review, summarizing that the film is "one of the most visually unique films of 2023".
In a negative review, Kyle Logan of Cultured Vultures said the film "is a singular film on almost every level, which makes it worth seeking out for fans of weird movies, but it has some ideological issues and isn't quite good enough to transcend its niche." Logan also characterises the film as misogynistic, a criticism echoed by Catherine Benstead of Hear Us Scream.
At the 2023 Panic Film Fest, the film won the award for Best Visual Effects. Panic Film Fest 2023 Awards At the 2023 Days of the Dead Film Festival, Sid Haig's posthumous performance was nominated for Best Villain, If you'll be at Days of the Dead next week, make sure to vote for Sid Haig, who got a posthumous nomination for Best Villain while James Marsters won the award for Best Actor and Evan Marlowe won for Best Director. So thrilled that James Marsters and Evan were recognized for acting and directing. What a great honor from true horror fans at Days of the Dead. At Film Invasion Los Angeles, the film won the awards for Best Director (Feature), Best Screenplay (Feature), Best Horror Feature, and Best Performance by a Full Cast. Holy cow! We're so honored that Film Invasion L.A.'s Grand Jury awarded Abruptio...BEST HORROR FEATURE BEST FEATURE DIRECTOR BEST FEATURE SCREENPLAY BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FULL CAST We're over the moon. Congrats to everyone who made it possible. At the 2023 Galacticat Film Festival, the film won the award for Best Effects. Congrats to Jeff Farley for his special effects work on the film!! At the 2023 Motor City Nightmares Film Festival, the film won the award for Best Effects. Abruptio award at the Motor City Nightmares Film Festival At the 2023 Film Invasion LA Festival, the film won the awards for Best Feature Film and Best Director. Film Invasion LA awards At Film Threat's Award This! the film won the award for WTF Indie like "What the F**k is This Movie Even?" and Evan Marlowe won the award for Best Director. AWARD THIS! 2024 NOMINEES & WINNERS!
Bloody Disgusting named the film one of the "10 Hidden Horror Gems" of 2024. British Film Institute included the film on its Ultimate Horror Watchlist.
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