Posted: Sunday 20th July 2008

Laura (Belen Rueda) and her husband Carlos (Fernando Cayo) buy the orphanage that she grew up in as a child. With the intention of reopening it as an orphanage for handicapped children, the couple begin to work on the old house. As the opening day nears, Laura’s adopted son Simon (Roger Princep) begins to talk to some new invisible friends. Whilst Carlos dismisses Simon’s new friends, Laura is too busy organising the opening to give him any attention. At the opening party, Laura sees a mysterious masked boy and Simon mysteriously disappears. As the months go by, Laura and Carlos can find no trace of their son but something within the house seems to be trying to communicate with Laura and what follows is a surprising, unpredictable and incredibly unsettling story.

The Orphanage is executive produced by Guillermo Del Toro and having his name attached to the project gave the movie an incredible amount of press. Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, The Orphanage is a superior supernatural thriller that takes you to the edge of your seat and leaves you there for the duration of the film. The movie hits all the right buttons and its less-is-more approach certainly pays off. The suspense builds slowly and the moment when Laura first sees the masked little boy is one of the most disturbing in the movie and the scariest we’ve seen in a long time.

The movie’s plot is so tightly written that it’s impossible to predict what is going to come next. The final act is shocking and devastating whilst still managing to be moving and optimistic. The Orphanage pays homage to classic horrors such as Don’t Look Now and The Omen but puts a fresh twist on a generally stale genre. Visually the movie is stunning. The orphanage looks incredibly impressive and the camera work is often very stylish using low-angle and high-angle shots making the movie feel fresh.

Belen Rueda really gives a tour-de-force performance as Laura. After the disappearance of Simon, Rueda perfectly captures Laura’s descent into near madness and desperation as she tries anything she can to find her son. Her performance in the final scene is so moving and emotional that we even shed a tear. Also notable is Montserrat Carulla as former orphanage worker Benigna and Geraldine Chaplin as medium Aurora. Carulla is terrifically creepy as Benigna whilst Chaplin unsettles as Aurora, the medium invited by Laura to help find her son.

Extras on the Blu-ray edition of the disc include a series of featurettes, deleted and alternative scenes and trailers.

The Orphanage is one of the best movie’s we’ve seen in the horror genre for a long time. Equally chilling as it is intriguing, The Orphanage demands our attention, plays on your worst fears and scares you out of your mind. This is what a good horror movie should be like and is proof that the best films don’t always come out of Hollywood. If you like you’re horror intriguing and spooky then The Orphanage is the movie for you.