One of the bettre ghost stories one is likely to ever see. Do not be fooled into believeing it is anything like "Pan's Labyrinth", this is atotally different story, and comparisons like that diminish Del Toro's breadth as a movie maker. I cannot get intoi everything here, but I will say that this movie reminds me more of "Dark Water" than to any of the other movies to which it is often compared. In short, it is a well-done movie that has a few scary moments, but in the end, it may just leave you in tears. It is that affecting.
After watching this movie, i feel glad that THERE ARE SOME DECENT HORROR MOVIE in this world!
it's diffrent from all Hollywood horror stereotype, it's spooky, smart and twisted!
ofcourse, some of the scene are just blurry and can't be digested, but overall it's a decent one! watch it and compare it to others..
i'll be looking forward to FOREIGN horror movies.. :)
A cut above most modern day horror movies cuz it tries to construct a good story and establish a connection between audience and character. Unfortunately, it kind of fails in both regards. The story seemed too familiar, and we don't find out much about the lead character. I admired the ambition nonetheless. Some scenes are really creepy. Other scenes borrow heavily from other better films like The Innocents, The Others, and Pan's Labyrinth. A mixed reaction.
One of the best "horror/thriller" films that I have seen in a VERY long time.
This film has everything that you would expect to find in a film of this genre, only it has the distinction of relying just as much on what it does NOT show you as it does on what is revealed.
It has a little more respect for its viewers and takes full advantage of the fact that our minds (if given the opportunity) can be much more creative then any special effects person could ever be.
It is a cleverly written, well acted and BEAUTIFULLY SHOT film, that will make your skin crawl, your pulse race and may very well end up breaking your heart.
El Laberinto del Fauno, one of Guillermo del Toro, is one of my favorite movies, so I thought I'd checked this one out. The plot is quite weak at times, leaving some holes throughout the story. But it works when they want you to feel the chills because you're not sure what's going to happen. Twisted end, but too similar to El Laberinto del Fauno for me. The young actor, Princep, does a great job, I totally fell in love with him.
Not exactly the perpetually terrifying frightfest it was promoted as, this is actually a fairly effective traditional ghost story. It has a few well-done jump scares, but for the most part it is concerned with spinning a supernatural mystery. It's not a perfect film, but it tells a good story that thankfully is not just another variation of RINGU. definitely worth a look.
FANTASTIC MOVIE!! Here's a must-see by Guillermo Del Toro. Intriguing story plot about a woman, her husband, and her adopted son. She purchases the home that she once lived in as a child, and within this home it has its own secrets that she barely remembers as an adult. A bizarre mishap occurs, and she must look to the past to search for answers. Very sad conclusion that leaves you a bit teary-eyed. Belen Rueda and Geraldine Chaplin are both phenomenal. Brilliant!!
The Orphanage is a movie about a woman, Laura, who buys the orphanage where she was raised, in hopes of restoring it to the place she loved. Laura is completely unaware of the tragedy that occured there. Until her son, Simon, starts talking to a few more imaginery friends. And that is when the deadly children's game begins.
The whole scene BEFORE the ending was great and everything before that was all good and fine. The ending..... totally blew it! Cheesy as hell. It's still a fun watch.
I'm not a big fan of horror, and it doesn't get any creepier than dead children. But I had a lot of faith in Guillermo Del Toro, due mainly to Pan's Labyrinth, and I was not let down. There are plenty of chilling moments, but the overall story was well-constructed and tied in everything perfectly. With beautiful cinematagraphy, superb acting, and an inventive story, this movie was miles above your run-of-the-mill horror film, and even put The Others to shame.
i am not going to lie i fell asleep in the beginning. the end was so good what a twist. I asked my mom if she would do what laura did in the movie she immediately said no! lol also i like it cause i didn't have to translate lol me encanto esta pelicula.
Gosh, this movie was truly "what a surprise!!" Let's see...first, I'm someone who's hard to get scared, that means that bowels, liters of blood and gore doesn't make and impact on me at all; I'm more in the "supernatural/ghost" type of horror movies. The Orphanage is exactly this, a movie which is full of supernatural happenings and with a story who escalates slowly into a nightmare. Watch it! specially on the cinema, the sound edition is amazing and you'll find yourself on the bottom of your seat when they try to unveil the orphanage mysteries with the help of a medium.
At one point I was almost in tears because I was scared. I haven't been scared like that by a horror movie since The Changeling. I even started getting chest pains from being so tense. Yup. Good one!
Really cool! Sure creeped me out,had me perched on top of the couch with the lights on bright as the dam sun.LMAo.Anyway Really good film.I really like Del Toro I don't undertsnad why he gets so much crap,He is very unique and I think VERY creative.Anyhow I highly recommend this one for when you want the bejesus scared out of you...several times =)
The Orphanage doesn't really offer anything new to the table. It's fairly conservative and tells a story that we've seen many times. However, when the art of telling such a simple story is perfected, it's wonderful.
It was such a relief to see how simple this was kept. We never had a climax where the hero met some gigantic monster ghost, nor did we ever see horribly disfigured, or pale children with long wet hair in their face jumping in front of the screen - it kept straight to the basics. This had everything you'd expect... children at the end of the hallway, little fake scares where a character turns a corner and nothing is there, etc. But, this was so well paced and wonderful atmospherically that it never once left you rolling your eyes at these simple horror techniques. This film completely draws you in the whole time, and has you playing along in these twisted "games" with Laura all along.
There was stuff here and there that seemed fairly unnecessary and drew away from the plot... the seance scene was very unnerving and perhaps had my heart racing more than any part in the movie - but it really didn't even need to be there. Also, a lot of the secondary characters were a bit underdeveloped, such as Laura's husband... however, I very much enjoyed the concept that women are more succesptible to engaging in this "world". It's a very feminine movie.
The entire movie gives off this extremely eerie sense of undeniable dread, and although the last act reveals something extremely disturbing and heartbreaking, we do get a sense of closure and hope when it's all said and done. It's sad and happy all at once. I love that the film doesn't mistake the movie-goers as idiots and doesn't spell too much out for you, it simply "explores" these topics and lets the audience follow along. The idea of life after death is always fascinating if done right and not written for idiots.
I tend to think that horror is a dead genre since no one seems to get it right. Even many of the Japanese films which horror fans cream over don't ever seem to be all they're cracked up to be. However, this film gives you hope, and shows that horror in the right hands will always be wonderful.
Many jump out of your seat moments. I have not had a movie scare me like this in a long time. The signifgance (sp?) of the St. Anthony's Medal was awesome.
I saw it last night and it was awesome. It was well shot well acted and had a good story in my opinion. Also the first time I've ever actually heard someone scream at a movie. This focuses more on the story and the emotions than the scare factor which is good because that makes it a more naturally freaky movie. I absolutly loved this movie. Every bit of it. Like I said before, the story is just perfect, It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Yeah...figure that one out.
It keeps you looking at the screen the whole time with interest and it pays well at the end. Ah, and i almost forget, you will really jump a few times.
A pretty damn solid horror movie - the foreshadowing is really, really obvious, but the rest of the movie is good stuff. The scares begin to slow down in the twilight hours of the movie, but it also comes with the realization that the horror was used as a way to develop the characters and setting.
Because of the horrible things that happen to Laura at the half hour mark of the movie, we kind of automatically cleave to her. The disappearance of a child is a terrible thing, especially surrounded by her circumstances. It is with that gaping weak point revealed that The Orphanage proceeds to frighten the hell out of us - the next half hour of the movie gives birth to its best scary scenes, ones that involve buses and seances in orphanages of the past. While Laura, and by proxy the viewer, are vulnerable, the movie puts us through hell.
Things slow down in the last half hour for the ending. It is a conclusion to the plot, a consummation of Laura's fears and a tidy culmination to the themes of the movie all in one. Really, I think the movie gets off too easy here. The third act doesn't hit nearly as hard as the rest of the movie - it may be because of the lack of scares, which completely taper off by this point. The Orphanage refuses to capitalize on the atmospheric buildup that it has worked so hard to maintain. This, to me, is a huge disappointment. Perhaps it's because of the obviousness of the foreshadowing that I mentioned above...seriously, every plot-related item or symbol can be seen from a mile away. The key, the lighthouse, the pendant. Come on now, cut that shit out. I promise it'll make your film have that much more meaning.
If The Orphanage doesn't always succeed narratively, it is absolutely brilliant aesthetically. The titular building is practically a character in itself: alternately beautiful, inviting, maddening, mysterious, terrifying, mournful. So many emotions are captured in this building. The movie's visuals are very clear - most of it, in fact, takes place during the daytime - and it does just as well showing you images as it does obscuring them. The sound does its job competently, as well.
The comparisons to Pan's Labyrinth were premature and somewhat unwarranted. The Orpahange is strong, watchable and exciting, and succeeds both as a horror movie and as a film offering from Spain. Well worth the time you will spend on it.
MCT:May 14, 2008
MCT:May 14, 2008
MCT:May 13, 2008
MCT:May 13, 2008
MCT:May 11, 2008
