A nice bit of spookiness to watch in the dark. Although the Eastern European cast gave somewhat lukewarm performances, Anastasia Hille’s portrayal of Marie was convincing enough as she went from troubled tourist to terrified prey while the cleverly circuitous plot threw in one twist after another. The usual jolts and jumps are there (an encounter in a cramped closet gave me goosebumps) but the film’s real strength lies in its clever use of light and sound a flooded basement corridor comes alive with shifting shadows and demonic cries, a curtained window offers a gauzy glimpse of “something”, and a moonlit river provides a final answer. With a palette of washed out colours and widescreen visions of misty forests, decaying hallways, and dripping zombie effects, Nacho Cerdà has fashioned an effectively creepy ghost story. Joining forces with Nicolai, a curious stranger with more than a passing interest in her family history, Marie tries to get to the root of what happened in that now abandoned farmhouse where she was born forty years earlier. However, upon arriving in Russia she soon discovers that her parents’ little village holds more secrets than she was prepared for. But despite being raised in the West Marie feels compelled to visit her birthplace in order to unravel the twin mysteries of her mother’s death and the identity of her elusive father. Originally born into a Russian family, she was adopted while still an infant after her mother was brutally murdered. The Abandoned (Spain 2006) (7): Marie Jones is a successful American film producer with a troubled past.