El Orfanato

[Unglaublich Verwustung]

If you haven't been to see this then get out of the house and go watch.

I thought this film was excellent; I'm not usually a fan of horror but I do try to make an exception for those in which Guillermo Del Toro is involved. Although he is not the director in this case, and is limited to credits as one of the producers, it is understandable why he would want his name associated with this one, Juan Antonio Bayona has produced a superb piece of film-making.

The Orphanage is a slick and quietly chilling piece of work which works on several levels at once - for those with a penchant for the supernatural, you got it. More rational, you can put lucid explanations into it all and it is still a good scare.

A woman named Laura returns to the orphanage she grew up in as a child, with the intention of opening it up again as a home for children with disabilities. Together with her husband and adopted son Simon, Laura tries to make the huge old building ready to receive it's first new residents, but all is not quiet in the dusty rooms and grounds, and gradually she starts to feel sinister presences from the past making themselves known.

The film strings out quite a good story, blending traditional scares with modern touches. Although most of the actual frights are on the soft side, the film does have quite away with sudden shocks, especially one great sequence involving the death of a sinister secondary character...you'll know when you see it! Also there are moments when the director builds up the tension then drops you, builds up again...I'm sure you get the idea. But mostly things stay pretty calm and these very well built tension sequences fade away without any cinematic pay-off, with characters almost too subtly menaced for things to get really scary. However there are certain moments when you WILL jump!

The Orphanage stands up as a strong piece of work. The backbone of the film is undoubtedly the strong performance by Belén Rueda as Laura, who carries the entire film admirably. The film looks great, with stunning photography, very elegant sets and a gorgeous building standing in for the orphanage itself. Sound and music work very well too, and the film succeeds in working many small elements together (such as a playground hiding game and some very clever revelations towards the end), so all in all, the film is an accomplished piece of cinema and well worth seeing, although don't expect too much real terror as most of the chills in this film are poetic rather than gruesome.