Customer Reviews
Scary In Any Language 
2008-06-24
THE ORPHANAGE is an excellent film of the ghost story sub genre and should even appeal to horror film who usually reject movies filmed in languages other than English. The English subtitles may detract a bit from the scare factor but the very effective spooky imagery, haunting music and highly atmospheric setting soon make the viewer forget the spoken language is Spanish. As the title suggests and like so many other classic ghost story films (THE CHANGELING, THE INNOCENTS and THE OTHERS come quickly to mind) children play large roles in both the plot and theme of the film. And as in most horror movies the viewer must be able to suspend some disbelief concerning some of the characters' unlikely actions and some other unrealistic plot elements. The film is well acted by actors who are mostly not well known to average American movie fans though Geraldine Chaplin who starred years ago as Tonya in the classic DR ZHIVAGO is perfect as the white faced medium Aurora.
The opposite of scary: BORING 
2008-06-23
Don't waste your time.... There are so many holes in this story and the production that even the paranoid will run out of the room from boredom not fear.....
A Masterpiece! 
2008-06-22
Guillermo Del Toro delivers again!
The Orphanage or El Orfanto, whichever name you would like to call it, is excellent! It's a movie at its best! Great storyline, great characters, a little spookiness and alot of twist & turns that you will never see coming!
The trailer for this movie, makes it out to much scarier than it is, but the movie will not disappoint.
If you watch this movie and like/love it, watch Del Toro's other movies, they are all good- Pan's Labyrinth, The Devil's Backbone and Hellboy!
Wish hollywood would take some notes. 2008-06-20
It is about time we stop doing remakes and come with new ideas.This movie is a nice example of that.Not your regular cookie cutter movie. Worth every penny.
Spooky, Sad, Twisted story 2008-06-18
I don't speak Spanish but I am learning, I love Guillermo Del Toro's films this film was a very haunting film I feel it was done very well with a few scares that were perfect and subtle. The story a story I have heard before but there are twists and things about the characters that make the story stand apart from the rest. The twist at the end,(which I will not give away)left a very deep impression in me made me think and also cry it was a sad sweet ending I hope those who buy this movie can appreciate the artwork and beauty of the sadness within it. P.S I love the fact that he named one of the characters after him.
Wonderful movie, good service. 2008-07-19
This is one of my most favorite movies since "The Devil's Backbone". A lovely story and quite scary. It's definitely a keeper.
Not Really A Horror Film, Per Se... 
2008-07-18
THE ORPHANAGE is a tough film to review, as it had some really good points but some really low ones, too.
The highest point comes from Guillermo del Toro's association with it. For those unaware, del Toro was the genius behind such films as Hellboy, the new Hellboy II and the exquisite Pan's Labyrinth. Visually wondrous and stark, del Toro has a discerning eye for what does and does not work, and one can easily see his input (as a producer this time) within The Orphange. Although he had a hands-off approach for this film, you can see it is distinctly del Toro in nature, with heavy shadows, complex film shots, and a movie that lets the images speak rather than a visceral score (which was minimal).
Spanish stage-star-turned-film-actress Belén Rueda pulls in a fantastic performance as a returning woman to the orphanage she once inhabited as a child, but this time as owner of the failing building. Her pouty eyes, ruffled hair, and slumped shoulders gave her just the right mixture of attractiveness and cookyness that such a role demanded. When Laura's (Belén Rueda) adopted son Simón (Roger Príncep) goes missing from a party at the house/orphanage, Laura obviously does everything to try and locate him. Her husband Carlos (Fernando Cayo) also tries for many months but soon loses faith in ever finding the boy alive. He's probably right, too, since the boy was sick and needed daily medications. But Laura refuses to give up. She "feels" something in the house, just as Simón had before he disappeared. Simón kept referring to invisible friends who wanted him to stay and play with them. Laura and Carlos, of course, just assumed the boy to have an active imagination.
But Laura begins awakening to memories of her time at the orphanage, and with this comes a flood of troubled remembrances. When a group of paranormal researchers are called in to see if they can find out what happened to Simón, Laura's suspicions are aroused further, but cause a rift to grow between she and her husband. Carlos soon leaves but Laura stays, and she starts "playing the game" that these memories tell her to (including a game of hide and seek that results in some of the film's scarier moments, "1 ...2 ...3...Knock on the wall.")
Although the performances and filming were done with great care, the script itself was not. Deus ex machina rules the ending (just think of the movie The Others and you'll be real close). That this film has horror elements is undeniable, but genre-wise it doesn't quite fit. Although I don't think shoe-horning a film into a specific genre is a good thing, it does give the viewer a sense of what to expect and how the story will unfold. Not so here. The ending makes it a bit too sweet. Okay, so that might not be fair if you compare Pan's Labyrinth's ending and this one (true, they are similar). But Pan's Labyrinth had a much more cohesive story that came at you from a child's perspective. With The Orphanage, it is through Laura's eyes that we see this world, and she's a grown up with grown up ideals. Plus the brutality of Pan's Labyrinth was horrifically pulled off by the evil protagonist, while in The Orphange, it really had none other than its own circumstances.
But if you're in the mood for something visually appealing, this one will stimulate that portion of your brain. Just don't expect a smashing success ...or a horror film.
Wonderful gem of a thriller 2008-07-03
I hesitated to watch this movie as it was in spanish with subtitles. Boy am I glad I did.
This movie really pulls you along until the final moments. It starts with a good pace and gains momentum as the minutes go on. I felt myself completely drawn in, which is not easy to do.
I won't cover the plot here, that's been done already. I will say that if you want a movie that will make your skin shiver and have you jump at every noise then this is the one. Definitely made for scares and thrills. I hope we see more from this director.
Creepy movie that doesn't completely suck 2008-06-30
Although this movie moves slowly at director's leisurely pace it's merits outweigh its flaws. This movie vaguely reminded me of the movie The Others. However imperfect, by the end it's far superior to other films in this genre, especially in craftsmanship. Although I don't normally watch these kinds of films at least this is one I can take seriously. It's not just made for the sake of sudden nonsensical scares like someone suddenly approaching from behind or a sudden klaxon coming from the soundtrack to make you jump.
I would have given it 3 stars until it reached the end, which I didn't totally predict, so that bumped up my rating up to a 4.
Note: I went in thinking this movie was directed by Guillermo del Toro (since his name is plastered everywhere); this is what originally drew me to the film. It wasn't till after I watched it that I realized he was actually just one of the Producers.
Classic Supernatural Suspense 2008-06-29
Guillermo Del Toro's film factory has produced another masterpiece of ghostly suspense for those of us old enough to remember when supernatural films were truly scary and not just disgustingly gory. Like previous films of this type, Del Toro's own Cronos, Devil's Backbone & Pan's Labyrinth and similar films such as 'The Other', 'The Shining'. and the 'The Haunting', this film by first time director Juan Bayona is suspenseful ghost story that relies on the audience's immersion into the details of the atmosphere of the story rather than visual shock. Not that there aren't a few quick shockers, but the film relies more on story and character development than the usual blood and guts that turns off many film goers. Like the 'Sixth Sense', the film's ending leaves you with the desire to view it again to catch what you missed the first time. The only negative aspect of this film is that some English speaking only viewers may be put off by the foreign language audio and subtitles. I watched this film on DVD and I wish that an English audio option was available even though I could follow some of the Spanish audio because the need to read on-screen text serves as a distraction to the visual style of the film itself.
