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Rating of
2.5/4
"The Orphanage" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 04/16/2012
The adopted mother of a young child returns to her childhood orphanage, where he tells her of his "new friends". When he goes missing, she becomes convinced that he was abducted by the spirits of dead children. This Spanish "horror" film is really more of a Gothic fantasy, as there is little in the way of frights or gore which is probably why Guillermo Del Toro put his name to it and the resulting hype brought it to the attention of the world media. The fact is, despite sharing themes with The Devil's Backbone, The Orphanage has far more in common with The Others with a dash of Poltergeist thrown in. It lacks the originality and invention of Del Toro's work and as a result feels much more generic. Belen Rueda puts in a strong performance as the grieving mother, it is nice to look at and …
Rating of
3.5/4
How Horror Needs To Be Done
lpd381 - wrote on 09/16/2011
This movie was absolutely fantastic. The acting was top notch, the set ups for the scary parts was almost torture in how slow and meticulous it set everything up. It even had a couple jump scares that actually worked as well. The ending was also heart wrenching and overall satisfying. The problems I hear people having are that it's to slow and that it turns into a drama at the end rather then a horror movie. To me these complaints are just from people who probably like the slasher kill them all movies as opposed to horror movies that take their time and let you try to figure out what's happening and why. The ending again is very emotional and is very dramatic. If you like the slower paced movies then this is definitely worth checking out if you haven't you will not be disappointed.
Rating of
3.5/4
'Believe and you will see...'
danand82 - wrote on 09/07/2008
The Orphanage is not a horror film and it is not directed by Guillermo del Toro.
These two common misconceptions have followed the film around since it's release. The former can perhaps be dismissed as semantics but the latter bears some semblance to the belief several years ago that Quentin Tarantino had directed Hero (2002). The major difference is that del Toro is a genuinely talented director and Tarantino is an over-rated adolescent. But that's another rant for another day.
The Orphanage was actually directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, in his feature film debut, though it could easily be mistaken for del Toro's work. Best known for his comic book movies Blade II (2002) and Hellboy (2004), The Orphanage is more tonally similar to some of his Spanish language work, particularly The …
Rating of
4/4
Effective Chills
Franz Patrick - wrote on 07/21/2008
This is definitely not an ordinary ghost story because in its core lies a heart that radiates even after the credits stopped rolling. But that doesn't mean that it lacks genuine scares. In fact, there is plenty of suspense, each on a different level. Some of my favourite scenes include the séance, the automobile incident, and when the main character participates in a childhood game. Such scenes made my heart pound as if I'm watching the best scenes of "No Country for Old Men." I'm really impressed with this film because there were so many chances when it could've turned into a typical horror movie. Moreover, the characters' choices are so natural, and thus it was easy for me to identify with them even though some scenes may seem supernatural. The ending was absolutely brilliant because …
Rating of
4/4
Highly effective old-fashioned horror
newmans_own - wrote on 11/29/2007
In this day and age, it seems unlikely that a haunted house movie would be the scariest to come along in years. But here we are with THE ORPHANAGE, a not-so-ordinary ghost story that draws upon the horror classics of yesteryear; the frights come from what we cannot see but know is there. Director J.A. Bayona and screenwriter Sergio G. Sanchez (under the guidance of producer Guillermo del Toro) have crafted a modern masterpiece of less-is-more. Yet in many ways, the film’s greatest strengths lie not in its sequences of harrowing suspense but its dramatic aspirations.
The film strives on techniques that have been around for ages. Creaking floors, thumping footsteps, doors closing by themselves, flickering lights, etc. The story is definitely old fashioned and the filmmakers do not …
