Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Geraldine Chaplin

Laura purchases her beloved childhood orphanage with dreams of restoring and reopening the long abandoned facility as a place for disabled children. Once there, Laura discovers that the new environmen...( read more  read more... )t awakens her son's imagination, but the ongoing fantasy games he plays with an invisible friend quickly turn into something more disturbing. Upon seeing her family increasingly threatened by the strange occurrences in the house, Laura looks to a group of parapsychologists for help in unraveling the mystery that has taken over the place.

Flixster Users

85% liked it

29,492 ratings

Critics

86% liked it

149 critics

R, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Juan Antonio Bayona

Release Date: December 28, 2007

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DVD Release Date: April 22, 2008

Stats: 12,113 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (12,113)


  • July 6, 2009
    Now this is the type of creepy movie that I like. I like there to be some scariness but that there's a mystery behind everything and you have to figure it out. I usually have to be in the mood for a foreign flick but I feel like having to read the subtitles didn't take anything a...( read more)way from the movie.
  • April 16, 2009
    I enjoyed it but kept getting the nagging feeling that I'd seen it all before...
  • March 28, 2009
    A rare type of film that can be creepy one moment and tender the next. Well-made and intriguing but it's not something I'll ever want to watch again for reasons I can't explain without ruining it.
  • March 1, 2009
    A great Spanish ghost story/thriller which I'm sure said it was directed by Guiilermo Del Toro? I saw the trailer and had to see this. It's very creepy at times, largely due to the spooky location. It's a very good story well told and directed. Reminded me of The Others, The 6th ...( read more)sense most of all, so if you like those you'll love this.
  • February 15, 2009
    Simon: Can my new friend come home to play with us.
    Laura: What is his name?
    Simon: Tomas.

    This is something you just do not see very often anymore, a damn good horror movie. It has tension, scares that are not the cheap jump kind, some creepy images, a good story, and well ...( read more)developed characters.

    This is a Spanish haunted house story, given the seal of approval by famed Mexican horror director Guillermo Del Toro, serving as executive producer for this film.

    The story involves a mid 30s woman, Laura, who has purchased the old house, which served as orphanage she grew up in, with the intention of using it as an orphanage once again. She moves with her husband Carlos and her adopted son Simon, who unfortunately was born with HIV.

    Simon has a wild imagination, leading him to create imaginary friends and play tricky games with himself. Soon after moving in and some questionable circumstances, Simon goes missing.

    Laura must not only deal with this, but also with the strange happenings going on in and around the house, which includes the creepy image of a boy in a very disturbing mask and a mysterious older woman.

    Simon's disappearance with no trace leads to the use of parapsychologists, despite Carlos disbelief in the supernatural, as well as Laura having to realize what had once gone on in the orphanage.

    The story is very well handled. Everything in this movie has a purpose. Elements are setup early on, only to be given significance later in the story that prove to be very effective.

    The lead actress, Belen Rueda, is very effective as Laura, as she must carry this movie, and does so in a very good way. The same goes for the supporting actors, who only add to Laura's character.

    The movie itself is very well handled. It takes some notes from other haunted house/ghost stories from films like The Shining, and makes it into its own. The camera work is very effective and not at all overdone. We hear all the different sounds, bumps, creaks, and all, staging very effective build ups for various scenes. There are almost no special effects for this film, and the R-rating is put to good use for a film like this. It's not overstuffed with gore, but it has a few frightening images.

    This really is one of the best actual horror movies I have seen in a very long time. It gave me a few chills (I'm a sucker against creepy kid movies), its well made, has good characters, good pay offs for the various setups, and does exactly what it should do - entertain the way this kind of movie should.

    Carlos: Here, take my necklace of St. Andrew.
    Laura: But you don't believe in that stuff.
    Carlos: Exactly. That's why you should have it.
  • November 3, 2009
    This is a well written and thrilling story and I enjoyed it alot. The subtitles weren't so good though and that was the only negative thing I can say about this movie.
    This movie proved once again that horror movies from Hollywood suck (mainly)!
  • November 2, 2009
    I love this movie <3
  • November 1, 2009
    Uncompromising drama is mixed in quite well with some chilling suspense in this tale that's described almost perfectly by its tagline; "A love story, a horror tale."
    What makes this film tick so well is just how poignant the journey of Rueda's character is. She will do nothing to...( read more) stop until she finds out the truth about her missing son, and unfortunately, when she does..... It's time to shed some tears.
    A fantastic effort by JA Bayona, considering this is his directorial debut.
  • October 29, 2009
    Saw it 3 time, the first time in cinema and the second one at home. The third time was the good one. I loved it. Really good, interesting, refresh the style and mix different things i never think would be good together.
  • October 27, 2009
    Very creepy! There was a couple of moments where i jumped. This would be a great movie to watch halloween night.

Critic Reviews


January 9, 2008
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Beautifully conceived and composed, it's eerie, sometimes frightening and surprisingly moving. full review

January 7, 2008
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker

The film is less of a shocker than an adventure in anxiety, testing and twisting some of the classic studies in infantile curiosity. full review

January 7, 2008
Kurt Loder, MTV

...the movie leaves you feeling not simply wrung-out by shock and carnage, but genuinely spooked. full review

January 4, 2008
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

Like the best of horror films, it gets under your skin not with gore or cheap jolts but with an unnerving, ever-building tension, and with images that remain with you long afterward, interrupting your... full review

January 4, 2008
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

Ms. Rueda is such a gifted actor that she keeps this movie alive through thick and thin. full review

January 4, 2008
Claudia Puig, USA Today

In a season filled with dark-themed films, it stands out as an elegantly mounted, surprisingly humane but terrifying horror thriller well worth seeing. full review

January 2, 2008
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

The Orphanage a diverting, overwrought ghost story from Spain, relies on basic and durable horror movie techniques.

December 28, 2007
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

A superior ghost story. full review

September 19, 2007
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

A ghost story in which character motivation is haphazard and scares as scarce as narrative logic. full review

View more El Orfanato (The Orphanage) reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • jonathanstephenson
    June 10, 2008
    El Orfanato (The Orphanage) Hi Alexander, this sounds like a movie I would like very much, thanks for your review!
  • maloube
    May 20, 2008
    Rente ayer la pelicula y me ha encantado. No me esperaba tanto! Si me fue un poco predecible en algunos momentos, pero no dejo de sorprenderme. Mas que una pelicula de horror y/o suspenso, es una viva representacion de lo que es cine y muy bien hecho.
  • BurymeinBlack3
    March 19, 2008
    Actually Lovecyn4eve I agree it slowed down a bit but it was a beautiful ending showing that she eventually had to die to get her child back and that the supernatural were looking for someone to take care of them. That scene of Thomas walking towards her I must say that was quite frightening that will be in a dream of mine soon I'd say not good.
  • GhostHunterGuy
    March 3, 2008
    This was an amazing movie. I loved it. I have to say the scariest part was honestly the home videos. They were jsut freaky in their own way.
  • sofiahauffe92
    March 2, 2008
    me parecio un film exelente!! muy bunas actuaciones, un escenario magnifico y la trama en si.. dios!! super buena, y con lo del final, por dios!! maravilloso uno nunca se imagina que ese seria el final! y estoy impresionada por que de verdad que las peliculas españolas no son de mi gran agrado pero esta de verdad que me dejo boca abierta
  • lovecyn4ever
    January 8, 2008
    Beautifully shot,great atmosphere,stunning score with sound effects & suspenseful moments that makes it a creepy ghost film but with a plot hole & a weak ending.I was expecting a shocking finale & great twist.The film manage to get the audience jumping at times which is a good thing.
  • sarness
    November 4, 2007
    esta pelicula esta muy bien!
  • dafne323
    November 1, 2007
    me ha encantado la pelicula!esta genial y consigue que al final de la peli la gente se quede pensando a cerca de ella.enorabuena belen!
  • linkiniana
    October 28, 2007
    A mi me ha encantado. Belen me ha sorprendido y mucho!!! Una de las pelis que mas destacan españolas. ^^ Me ha encantado.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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