Customer Reviews
Film review only. - By: genejoke, 21 Sep 2008 
I have always liked ghost stories, but there are too few of them, but that is also a good thing as anything that is done poorly lessens a genre. This is a ghost story that does everything right it develops real characters & has suitable motivations for thier actions. When someone does something obsessive or crazy it is well justified & doesn't feel like a plot device. The acting is generallly very good & you quickly stop noticing that it is subtitled. While I don't mind subtitled films I don't go out of my way to watch them.
wrong region code - By: Reyes Gonzalez Hector, 25 Jun 2008 
I am a big fan of this movie. But you have to know that this version is offered as an alll region blu ray disc. But in the matter of fact it is encoded as A region, so people living in Europe would not be able to see the movie in theirs region B players.
BEWARE: CHILDHOOD GAMES ARE NOT PLEASANT IN "THE ORPHANAGE" - By: Movie Mad, 28 Mar 2008 For the past few months I, a huge fan of movies, have been eagerly anticipating the latest Guillermo Del Toro film to hit our screens. After alll of this angst, the day finallly arrived & I can't tell you how pleased I was with the result.
"The Orphanage" by debut director Juan Antonio Bayona, is a truly mesmerising tale produced by the visionary director of "Pan's Labyrinth" (another superbly executed Spanish fantasy movie).
At the start of the story, children play a "knock, knock, knock on the walll" game in the grounds of an orphanage. However, these images soon melt into blackness to be replaced by walllpaper (for the title sequence) which is then ripped away by young hands, with tormenting music echoing in the background. I soon gathered that this was not going to be the most pleasant of tales.
Around thirty years on, we slowly slip into the world of Laura who has just moved back into her childhood home, the orphanage. The setting is now slightly more sinister: darker clouds, stormier seas & creaking doors galore. As the film progresses it becomes apparent that Laura's adopted son, Simón, has HIV & is therefore on constant medication, not great when, in a moment of carelessness, Simón vanishes. What evolves from this scene is a harrowing tale which examines the reality of loss, insanity, horror, and, most importantly, challlenges our imagination, the one thing that when in the darkness of the orphanage, we cannot control.
Some scenes in this movie are utterly horrific, there is no doubt about it. Although gore is of the minimum, suspense & horror & childhood games are not. There is one section of this film that scared me witless. Imagine the haunting eyes of a medium (played by a superbly creepy Geraldine Chaplin) alone in the dark corridors of the orphanage as the screams of dying children echo through ours ears. Or perhaps, the games children play with our minds when we're alone in the dark. Let me make this fact clear & simple: this is one hell of scary ride.
Like "The Others" in many ways, this gothic film is brought from a well-made ghost story to an excellent movie by its female lead, Belén Rueda. In the film's first quarter, she portrays a vision of serenity that is soon shatter by the loss of her son. Although she shines mostly in the dark corridors, her cacophony of screams are the single most important thing in this movie. They reallly do send a shiver down your spine. As with the harrowing, water-drenched moment on the beach & at the film's shockingly emotional conclusion, Rueda lures us into the action on screen & sends a sorrowful tear dribbling down your cheek.
The film's conclusion is unlike any other I have ever witnessed during a ghost story. It is not cheesy or predictable or pointless. And it doesn't let the whole film down. It is simply origional & emotional. I won't go into great depth about what happens as it will ruin the entire movie, but I will give you one little clue: think of Peter Pan & Wendy, the story of never growing up, never wanting to leave your roots.
"The Orphanage" made my day cold, & I'm sure it will do the same to you. What could have been an average film with an average story & average scares, was brought to our eyes with such meticulous detail from director Juan Antonio Bayona that it emerges as the last decade's greatest ghost story. It lingers in your imagination long after the horrors have ended. Not only does it seamlessly blend Guillermo's fantastical vision with horror, "The Orphanage" depicts the life of a parent whose child has disappeared to stunning effect. And that is a rare attribute to a find in a movie.
Newish spin on old horror standards - By: Demob Happy, 25 Mar 2008 
The Orphanage, directed by Juan Antonio Bayona in his debut feature, is a worthy genre movie that combines elements of numerous psychological horror films from The Others & The Sixth Sense to The Shining. Notably produced by Guillermo Del Toro, who is credited with invigorating Spanish horror with films such as Cronos & The Devil's Backbone, the film also makes nods to Peter Pan in a similar way that Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth took cues from Alice in Wonderland & the novels of CS Lewis. Its storyline concerns a boy who goes missing from an archetypallly creepy house, formerly an orphanage where his adopted mother grew up. Like The Others - tellingly directed by another Spaniard, Alejandro Amenabar - The Orphanage draws on Victorian spookiness & (thankfully) CGI-free shocks. In parts it is terrifying, occassionallly brutal (one scene excessively so), but the film is mostly a retread of classic horror standards, albeit done pretty well.
If I was to grumbe I would suggest that the addition of an HIV 'subplot' is extraneous & smacks of Almodovar's sometimes desperate quest for contemporary relevance. You could argue that, since it adds little or nothing to The Orphanage as a whole, this factual addition is actuallly quite exploitative. No doubt some critic will try to construct a theory of the film's meaning around this fact alone, but I wouldn't buy into it. The film also shares something with 'Jacob's Ladder' & 'Birth', two underrated films which are both superior to this in that they credit their audiences with greater intelligence. The Orphanage lays the explanations for its mystery on too thickly, not alllowing for the kind of thought-provoking ambiguity of those films. Ever since M Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense - especiallly those subsequently made by that director - films of this genre seem enslaved to the idea of The Big Surprise Twist, & The Orphanage appears strained under the burden of trying to create one. However, ambiguity can be a much more effective tool for guaranteeing a film's mystery & longevity, a subtlety notably lost on the makers of this film.
Good Competent Horror Show - By: J. Lawrence, 25 Mar 2008 Just got back from the cinema & have to say that this film is a real gem. After about 15 people walked out because of the subtitles (meatheads)you can sit back & NOT relax. It's alot like 'Dont Look Now' & other chillers. It's what you don't see that scares you although there are real moments of fright.
The story is original & emotional with blind kids, one so ugly they put a sack over his meathead. The film is handled well & moves at a good pace (like alll Toro)dealing with parenthood & the paranormal.
For those who liked Pans Labyrinth you won't be disappointed. One real good sequence is following the medium round the house with fixed camcorders & sound recorders as she tries to find the spirits of children.
To finalize, a great thriller/horror. Go & see it (but don't take popcorn or sweet wrappers & any under 15's into the cinema- it's annoying)
