A young couple are on vacation when they are shot with tranquillizer darts; they are abducted by persons unknown. Pretty soon they realize that they are in some sort of institution that's similar to a hospital, or a prison, or a research facility; we never really find out.
Over the course of the film several other couples are introduced into the mix, each having been abducted from the same place. Each couple have their own stories and their own beliefs about what's going on, and each set of beliefs is completely different from every other couple.
Although the abductors wear orange environment suits and gas masks, it becomes clear that they at least approximate human beings, and not little green men from space. However we never actually find out who/what they are.
So what is the point of the film? This film is all about creating an atmosphere, and showing the slow exploration of the strange surroundings that the couple find themselves in. Days pass without incident, then there are periods where people are unconscious and then wake up with strange wounds or scars. The film creates a very claustrophobic atmosphere and doles out information slowly and intermittently. It eventually becomes clear that the building/complex/bunker/whatever is not in pristine condition. Does this rule out government involvement? The disconnection from one scene to the next works well. Did the couple just fall asleep and wake up, or were they drugged and more time has elapsed than they think, or were they drugged so that changes could be made to their cell and no extra time has elapsed. It's an evocative way of mirroring the fragmented nature of the captives new life.
Whilst the film does an excellent job of creating a mystery about what is happening, there are a number of flaws.
The first is a minor but jarring flaw: whilst most of the film follows the rules of the real world, the battery life on the mobile phones that everybody has can be measured in weeks rather than hours, and nobody comments on this extraordinary happen stance as they record daily videos, constantly check for a signal or text their captors.
The major flaw in this film is that ultimately nothing is explained. There are a couple of scenes at the end of the film that give hints as to what's going on, but no explanations are provided. Whilst this may work for films like "2001: A Space Odyssey", Abduction doesn't have the gravitas to pull off a vague ending. This film needs a few scenes to explain more clearly what is, or might be, going on in California. Sadly, we don't get an explanation and the film doesn't deliver a satisfying experience because of it.
