The Orphanage [2007]
£10.49
Beautiful, gripping, moving but not a horror movie!! - I had this DVD given to me because I like psychological films, for example I enjoyed The Others and The Sixth Sense. Reviews I had read on the DVD sleeve itself gave me the impression it was a horror film, and at least it would be scary. It was gripping and dark, and had me tense in places but it certainly didn t scare me. That s a good thing as I don t really like horror films, I found parts of The Sixth Sense on the scary side. In fact, it s so far removed from the horror genre that I cried at the end!! I d really recommend this film to people who liked The Others and The Sixth Sense.
The right ingredients... but not completely cooked - The Orphanage is certainly an enjoyable watch. It is beautifully shot, well acted, perfectly paced and fairly satisfying. However, the parts are greater than the sum.Admittedly, I began watching this thinking that I was going to be seeing some sort of cross between Don t Look Now and The Others, and was surprised to find that although there were occasional unsettling moments, the movie was much gentler than I was expecting. This may have slightly jaded my view (imagine sitting down to watch Mad Max and seeing Herbie instead and you can understand).Plot wise (avoiding spoilers), couple with child move to derelict building that used to be an orphanage and strange things start to happen.The acting really is first class by all concerned, but special mention has to go to Roger Príncep who plays Simón, the couple s child, who is one of the few genuinely non-irritating children to grace our screens in quite a few years, and is a joy to watch.There are a couple of jumps to be had, some small chills and one moment that made me wince, but ultimately I just came away thinking that what I had watched was ok. I certainly wouldn t suggest that people avoid this movie, but don t expect to be blown away by it.
Scary and Moving - I can t recommend this film highly enough. I was totally choked by the ending. Some major jumps to look out for (I so wish I d seen the film in the cinema. I can well imagine the audience jumping as one!) and the whole knock on the wall scene with the grown up Laura and children was truly terrifying.
Fantastic film - One of the most beautiful ghost stories I have ever seen, carrying in in the same vein as The Others. I disagree with reviews that belittle the ending as I thought it was extremely clever and thought-provoking. Definitely watch this film as it is truly spectacular and a great psychological horror. I have watched many spanish-language films and I have to admit that this is one of the best- I cannot recommend it highly enough.
A ghost story , but a very moving ghost story. - The Orphanage has been marketed as some kind of mind blowing scare-fest that will have you weeping and in need of industrial strength nappies as you evacuate your bowels with sheer terror. While it is quite spooky at times , and very tense at others it is by no means that scary and nor is it, as the marketing would suggest, a horror film. What it is .... well I would call it a fraught psychological thriller though that doesn t do it justice. Whatever you want to call it The Orphanage is beautifully crafted and ultimately incredibly moving , and that is most definitely not the usual thing for a horror film. Laura (Belen Rueda) was raised in an imposing large Orphanage but has now bought it along with her husband Carlos (Fernando Cayo) in order to do it up and use it as a specialist centre for special need kids. Their adopted son Simon( Roger Princep) wiles the time away playing with the imaginary friends he met in a cave on the nearby beach. His behaviour becomes erratic and then there s the strange old women claiming to be a social worker who visits them one day and then is discovered by Laura hanging around the grounds in the middle of the night. Then on their big open day Laura has a frightening encounter with a strangely masked small child and subsequently Simon disappears. The boy is sick and needs regular medication and as they search frantically for him , the days and weeks pass. Laura starts to hear things in the house , creaking and banging s. She becomes convinced there is something paranormal going on and despite Carlos s misgivings hires a medium (Geraldine Chaplin) who confirms that something is indeed amiss ands it involves children . Laura becomes ever more obsessed and frantic leading to a discovery that is both believable and utterly heartbreaking .The Orphanage is a brilliantly structured movie with shivery empathetic performances , especially from Belen Rueda. Writer Sergio G Sanchez ( this is his first script) and director J A Boyona( this is his first film) do a wonderful job of creating suspense and unease and while they often resort to standard ghost story tactics -big creepy house, sudden noise jolts, thunderstorms, things popping up unexpectedly - you always get the feeling there is more to this film than it just being about ghosts and so it proves. Two scenes in this film are quite superbly handled and the way the film accelerates towards the shocking but poignant climax is technically superb . The Orphanage is ultimately a fable (very much like producer Guillermo Del Toro s Pan s Labyrinth [2006]) that is about much more that it appears. It s a ghost story sure but it is also about maternal , devotion and unconditional love. It cleverly parallels traits of Peter Pan (Penguin Popular Classics) which is mentioned several times in the script. It is truly unforgettable and I was so choked up at the end I could,nt sleep for an hour afterwards. You might not be scared but you should be moved , something that will linger far longer than any scare boo thrill.