“The Orphanage” came with high praise. This 2007 Spanish horror film opened at the Cannes Film Festival, and received a 10 minute standing ovation. It received domestic critical acclaim in Spain, and won seven Goya awards, including Original Screenplay and New Director – J. A. Bayona.
More importantly, our friends at Extra features Podcast recommended it as one of the scariest horror movies ever seen.
I’ll give it props for setting, acting, and chilling premise. I can’t fault it for having subtitles, though that facet should be revealed as many, myself included, find it challenging to fully immerse when having to read and watch simultaneously. Ultimately, “The Orphanage” proves to be a capable, albeit slow and somewhat lackluster horror effort.
Laura (Belén Rueda) has purchased the orphanage in which she grew up in. Along with husband Carlos (Fernando Cayo) she intends to turn it into a home for special needs kids. The pair have a son of their own named Simón, who has some backstory to his character that I won’t spoil here. As soon as they arrive, Simón starts acting weird. He’s obsessed with playing a “game” and hunting for treasure. And talking to a new, unseen friend.
Haunted House?
“The Orphanage” is a haunted house tale with a series of fairly predictable scenes that follow a standard pattern. It’s set at a beautiful coastal estate. We get plenty of weeping shots of the building itself, as well as the rocky beach and sinister lighthouse. Its aesthetics are solid. Creepy kids with masks, spooky dolls, we have it all.
Belén Rueda (she could pass as Liz Banks) does a great job in the lead role. She’s a character rich with history – going back to her childhood at the very same orphanage. She has the chops to play a horror lead. Fernando Cayo is fine as Carlos in a supporting role.
A Deeper Mystery
At 106 minutes, it’s paced quite slowly. The combination Laura’s mystery investigation and continual subtitles definitely removed the tension for me.
There were also several moments where the score took an odd path, switching from horror to fantasy or even adventure at times.
As I watched, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had seen the movie before. But I had no record of a review. And it wasn’t found on the site. So I had my own chilling moment of confusion. Maybe I’m a ghost.
“The Orphanage” is fine. If you can stomach subtitles it’s worth watching once. It won’t blow you away as the lofty praise would indicate, but it works for a Spooky Movie.
“The Orphanage” can be rented on Amazon.
