The Orphanage

Review By: Brian DePasquale
BrianDePasquale @TheCinemaSource.com

Has there been a weaker genre so far this decade than the horror film? Every few weeks we get a new gore fest (usually a remake of a better Japanese film) that offers up the same old tactics with progressively worse execution. 2007’s The Descentwas a minor bright spot, but even that film relied on modern horror conventions to freak out its audience. Movies like One Missed Call and Awake are released constantly with hopes of producing a reliable teen audience to boost box office returns. Critics continuously slam these films for their cheap scares, weak characterizations, and ridiculously violent content.

Perhaps this climate of youthful obscenity in the world of scares opens the door for a film like The Orphanage to be well received. Juan Antonio Bayona's foreign piece is a rather straightforward approach to horror that borrows heavily from its influences, but successfully breeds moderate life into its conventions. It’s greatest strength is in offering a more classical adult alternative to a genre dominated by childishness. Ironically, the film has a lot to do with childhood, owing much of its plot details to films like The Sixth Sense and The Others.

The story follows Laura (Belén Rueda) who returns back to the abandoned orphanage where she grew up to create a care center for unhealthy children. Our protagonist returns with her husband Carlos and her 7-year-old son Simón to the mansion on the seashore she remembers from her childhood. She believes the fresh air will be good for her son and she and Carlos can finally care for children the way they have always wanted to do.

The mansion is haunted by the sick kids of the past. Simón plays the same role as Haley Joel Osment this time around, drawing pictures of his "imaginary" friends and revealing to his elders that something strange is going on. Soon Simón disappears, some creepy kid attacks Laura, and all hell breaks loose. Hell, they even bring a paranormal group to the house to investigate the possibility of a spiritual presence taken straight out of scenes from Poltergeist. All that is missing is the static television.

The plot of the film is a myriad of references to better and more original horror vehicles, but the film works well enough because of the stunning photography by Óscar Faura, a bold sound design by Oriol Tarragó, and some nice directorial choices by Juan Antonio Bayona. All three filmmakers offer a gifted sense of tone that gives the movie the chills it needs to steer through its more conventional moments. Through their craft they are able to establish the project as an admirable attempt