Featured Audience Ratings

• Anthony L

  
  The Orphanage feels like many of the other films in the genres for the first half, with samey scenes, unoriginal story and predictable 'jumps'. Then about halfway through the film shows its heart and it gets really good. It's one of those films that I liked throughout… More
  The Orphanage feels like many of the other films in the genres for the first half, with samey scenes, unoriginal story and predictable 'jumps'. Then about halfway through the film shows its heart and it gets really good. It's one of those films that I liked throughout but ended up loving purely because of the last scene, which is perfect. It certainly redeems itself and shows its one of the best of its ilk.

• Jeff "

  
  Spain has turned out quite a few excellent horror films in the last few years, and in my opinion, some of the most terrifying and original films of the last decade. The Orphanage is a brilliant, near flawless and beautifully constructed ghost story. The film benefits from all the… More
  Spain has turned out quite a few excellent horror films in the last few years, and in my opinion, some of the most terrifying and original films of the last decade. The Orphanage is a brilliant, near flawless and beautifully constructed ghost story. The film benefits from all the necessary ingredients to make a terrifying, and memorable horror film. Director J.A Bayona crafts one of the best ghost stories I've seen since The Others. What makes The Orphanage such a solid horror film is the tense, creepy atmosphere and effective pacing to steadily build up the horror. This is a solid, well acted horror film that is a must see for Diehard fans of the genre, or anyone looking for a good scare. I love horror, been a fan since I was a kid, and I've been quite unhappy with the current state of horror with all the remakes being released. Aside from a select few, most of them are terrible. However, it's nice to see an original, creepy horror film like this that comes out considering the fading trend of quality horror films. The Orphanage is a solid horror film. This is a smartly crafted film that delivers genuine chills and suspense. The Orphanage is simply put a brilliant, well acted horror film that is memorable and is one of the best horror films of the last decade. The film is scary, thrilling and spine tingling, as what a good horror film should be.

• Daniel M

  
  Mainstream horror in the early-21st century has become defined by inept remakes, unnecessary reboots, and an uncreative obsession with physical mutilation embodied by so-called 'torture porn'. But even as the genre was taken to new lows with Roland Joffé's utterly vile… More
  Mainstream horror in the early-21st century has become defined by inept remakes, unnecessary reboots, and an uncreative obsession with physical mutilation embodied by so-called 'torture porn'. But even as the genre was taken to new lows with Roland Joffé's utterly vile Captivity, there were a couple of reasons to be cheerful about being a horror fan. The first was Pan's Labyrinth, and the second is The Orphanage. The Orphanage is the latest chapter in the reinvention of horror and fantasy cinema spearheaded by Guillermo Del Toro and his counterparts. Although ostensibly directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, Del Toro's fingerprints are all over this stylish and chilling ghost story which breathes new life into the haunted house sub-genre and the lost child motif. While not on a par with Pan's Labyrinth, it is a worthy companion to both Del Toro's own ghost story The Devil's Backbone and to the classic cinematic ghost stories of the early-1960s. Because of its ghost story heritage, The Orphanage is immediately comparable to The Innocents, The Haunting and most recently The Others, in its emphasis on the unknown and its use of suggestion and paranoia rather than shock and gore to bring out true terror in an audience. There are also connections with Don't Look Now and Dark Water in the central thread of a family attempting to cope with the loss of their child, and in the resulting encounters with the spirit world where the intentions of the spirits are decidedly ambiguous. Like these great ghost stories, The Orphanage is on one level about dealing with grief - or more specifically, the idea that being able to make contact with the world beyond this would be in some way cathartic. Just as Julie Christie feels at ease after the psychic sister tells her that her daughter is safe and happy, so Belen Rueda allows the medium into her home on the grounds that she might be able to make contact with Simon. And as with Don't Look Now, direct communication with the supernatural lifts the lid off Pandora's Box, compelling Rueda's character to pursue her son even at the cost of her own life. If you want proof of the strength of the production, both in its direction and its script, you need look no further than the sequence involving the medium, played in a good performance by Geraldine Chaplin. Utilising the same hand-held, infrared aesthetic of The Blair Witch Project or [Rec], this is the point where the film could fall apart and descend into nothing than scared faces intercut with loud bangs. But though the content of these scenes are naturally creepy, Bayona never allows the tone to get too hysterical. He keeps cutting back to the crew observing and recording the medium, keeping our focus on the reasons behind the set-piece rather than simply expecting us to be scared. The Orphanage utilises a number of different techniques which combine seamlessly to keep the shivers flowing down our spine. The most prominent technique is the use of suggestion, with the long shadowy corridors and creaky floorboards of the orphanage leading us to imagine we are seeing something we are not. The masks worn by the children at the welcome party also have a macabre, creepy quality, being reminiscent of the Venetian masks worn in the mansion scenes of Eyes Wide Shut. But there are also one or two scenes of physicalized horror to provide variety, including a shattered and disproportioned face worthy of Rob Bottin. But beyond scaring us purely as a technical exercise, The Orphanage uses its chilling atmosphere to explore other issues beyond that of grief and catharsis. On a broader level it explores the way in which life and death intertwine, merge and even co-exist within a given place. The orphanage is presented as both a physical entity rooted in the present and as a portal into the past - a vessel, if you like, for the souls of the children who lived there. The crime that was committed there all those years ago has caused their souls to remain there, like a dark mark on history, and they now seek company in the form of Laura to comfort them and explain their fate. There are big overtones of Peter Pan in The Orphanage which influence its view of the afterlife and the role of the central character. The children at the orphanage are like the Lost Boys, both in their status as orphans and the fact that they will never age. Simon's fondness for the book, games and his 'imaginary friends' stems from a desire to remain young forever; when teamed with the knowledge that he is dying, his insolent rejection of his parents becomes a yearning for something or somewhere where death is no longer feared. If the ghost children are the Lost Boys and Simon is one of the Darling children, Laura begins as the sceptical parent but ends up rediscovering her childhood self and taking on the role of Wendy. There is a through-line with Pan's Labyrinth here in the idea of a central female protagonist who has forgotten her true identity, and who must find her true self through a series of challenges. But The Orphanage puts its own spin on it, characterising Neverland as the afterlife and the physical act of death as the gateway to staying young forever. This emphasis on childhood and childlikeness slips over into the behaviour of the ghosts with regard to their human companions. In the earlier sections of the film, The Orphanage seems to side with The Haunting in portraying the supernatural as something inherently and inexplicably malevolent, as shown by Tomas slamming Laura's finger in the bathroom door and then locking her in. But as things move on the ghosts' nature becomes more clearly playful; like children, they do as they please because they do not know the consequences of their actions. Any perception of threat is less down to their intentions as our preconceptions about death and the afterlife. There is a further comparison with The Haunting in the question of whether the events which transpire at the orphanage have any form of rational explanation. In the final scene, where the source of the scraping sounds is revealed, we gain some kind of understanding as to where the boundary between the explicable and the inexplicable lies. But up until then The Orphanage is great at keeping us guessing, generating real suspense during the night sequences which build to a heart-breaking last ten minutes. The Orphanage is also visually beautiful. Oscar Faura, who most recently shot Julia's Eyes, captures the haunting quality of the orphanage through a careful selection of pale blues, faded browns and a meticulous choice of shadows. The film has a sumptuous quality to it which makes its harsher moments all the more frightening. The performances are also of a high quality, with Belen Rueda anchoring the film in a portrayal which combines panic, dignity, sorrow and despair while never seeming anything less than human. The Orphanage is a first-class ghost story which confirms horror's ability, in the right hands, to address profound and insightful issues in a manner which is not only immersive, but sensitive, touching and intensely memorable. Because of its strong resemblance to Del Toro's work, it's hard to say how much of its success lies with Bayona, or whether he will be able to achieve this level of results under his own steam. But in the meantime it should be celebrated for what it is, namely an intelligent, heart-breaking chiller which will stay with you for a very long time.

• Alexis N

  
  At first it was really spooky.. any time you put creepy kids in masks it's going to be spooky. But then the movie took a turn, it got really sad. Never Never Land to say the least.. heartbreaking. It was visual and you don't even notice it's not in English after… More
  At first it was really spooky.. any time you put creepy kids in masks it's going to be spooky. But then the movie took a turn, it got really sad. Never Never Land to say the least.. heartbreaking. It was visual and you don't even notice it's not in English after awhile. But since you have to read subtitles, you have to pay attention.. no hiding through the scary parts.

• Jason S

  
  A well made and well acted movie. But... it's also one of the most depressing things I have watched in a long time. I was told it was one of the creepiest ghost movies that has been seen in the last few years but it didn't hold up in that department. While there were a… More
  A well made and well acted movie. But... it's also one of the most depressing things I have watched in a long time. I was told it was one of the creepiest ghost movies that has been seen in the last few years but it didn't hold up in that department. While there were a couple scenes that were creepy, the movie tended to be a little slow and in the end nothing more than a flick that made me want to drink myself into a coma to escape the depression that it caused.

• Emil K

  
  It has all the possible cliches of other horror-films in it, but still it manages to be scary, original and even touching ghost-story. Director Juan Antonio Bayona is a director who knows how to build a set-piece and this film is all about them. There are moments that goes over the… More
  It has all the possible cliches of other horror-films in it, but still it manages to be scary, original and even touching ghost-story. Director Juan Antonio Bayona is a director who knows how to build a set-piece and this film is all about them. There are moments that goes over the top with gore, but mostly it manages to keep it's style. Film's most powerful and horrifying moment is the one that involves a innovative use of nightvision-cameras and Geraldine Chaplin's professional ghosthunter. It begins like a typical haunted-house story and goes into unexpected directions and ends being a one of a kind variation of a Peter Pan-story. It is one of those rare films that is equally frightening as it is heartbreaking.

• Cynthia S

  
  This is a great foreign movie full of alot of eery and creepy stuff. Plus, there is plenty of mystery that keeps you wondering what happened until the shocking ending. A must see!

• MisterYoda ?

  
  3 stars

• Richard C

  
  a really great horror movie. it suprised me a lot. i wasnt interested in it at first but i really liked this movie. B+

• Randy T

  
  Spooky ghost story that's masterfully weaved by director Juan Antonio Bayona. The basement scene, near the end, made my skin crawl. Four stars!

• Dead A

  
  This was a sad movie. But it's enjoyable.

• Emily A

  
  The Spanish have a way with horror films. They're bringing such a distinctive and creepy new dimension to horror, and I'm always excited to see more. This is such an unsettling film because it's such a departure from what we as North American audiences have come to… More
  The Spanish have a way with horror films. They're bringing such a distinctive and creepy new dimension to horror, and I'm always excited to see more. This is such an unsettling film because it's such a departure from what we as North American audiences have come to expect from ghost cinema. Here's what we're used to seeing: a woman defending herself against pissed-off and malevolent ghosts that want to drag her to hell and bring her family misery (The Grudge). Or, an evil child has become a more murderous and insane entity after its death, and it's up to our precocious hero to find a way to send it away or, at the very least, survive it (The Ring). This is not what we get. In fact, I don't know if I'd even call it a horror movie, because for most of the film, I didn't feel like the heroine was in any danger. The most interesting and unique thing about this movie is that the ghosts are dead children, and are completely devoid of malice. However, they are also beyond the traditional means of communicating with spirits, which is what the heroine has to do in order to find her missing son. Oh man, I want to talk more, but I really REALLY don't want to give anything away. Suffice to say that this movie is a real treat. I wish I had watched it sooner!

• Jennifer D

  
  Cute plot twists, decent gore. And I can't watch horror movies to save my life. Barely survived this one. (Dumb roommates.) Some of the story didn't quite make sense, but still fairly good twist at the end.

• Kylie B

  
  Although the films isn't really all that original it's an enjoyable enough watch first time around. However, I can't say that I would really want to watch it again.

• Bruce B

  
  The Orphanage is an outstanding film, from the Spanish Horror vault. It has suspense, terror and on the edge of your seat action. The little ghost will creep you out, especially the child with the masked hood. Copy I watched was in Spanish with English Subtitles and still turned out… More
  The Orphanage is an outstanding film, from the Spanish Horror vault. It has suspense, terror and on the edge of your seat action. The little ghost will creep you out, especially the child with the masked hood. Copy I watched was in Spanish with English Subtitles and still turned out to be a exciting film. All actors in this film were new to me, Thought the Old Lady (Mabel Rivera) part was excellent and about midway into the film be prepared to jump (WHAM). Film leads you on to many possible twist, but twist at the end (And it will take you a few minutes to get it) Was excellent. 4 stars for this one.

• Megan S

  
  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… More
  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 away from the movie.

• Fernando Rafael Q

  
  Horror has never been my cup of tea and EL ORFANATO is not good enough to turn me into a fan of the genre. It sure is well directed, splendidly shot and features some great work by Belén Rueda and Geraldine Chaplin, but the plot is so generic. How many more dead kids in old houses… More
  Horror has never been my cup of tea and EL ORFANATO is not good enough to turn me into a fan of the genre. It sure is well directed, splendidly shot and features some great work by Belén Rueda and Geraldine Chaplin, but the plot is so generic. How many more dead kids in old houses do we really need?

• Film C

  
  this is a reli good scary movie they are saying now that foreign horrors are the best and this could prove it its jumpy and a pretty good storyline with a fantastic twist towards the end really good worth a watch

• A.D. V

  
  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.

• Dean !

  
  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… More
  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 sense most of all, so if you like those you'll love this.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings