The Orphanage (El Orfanato)
Get that orphanage some color, fast!
Orphanages don't really exist anymore
at least not in the traditional sense. When we hear orphanage, we
think of a Dickensian-era building, filled with dirty children just
hoping to be adopted by a wealthy family. Nowadays, there are group
homes, foster parents, and other ways of adopting children. Movies
and television, though, still like to portray orphanages in the a
more traditional way. This works in favor of horror movies because it
has been ingrained in our minds that orphanages are scary places.
It's also a good excuse to have scary children.
The Orphanage (also known as El
Orfanato) is a Spanish horror movie starring Belen Rueda as Laura.
Produced by Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth), the movie
was written by Sergio G. Sanchez and directed by J.A. Bayona. Laura
moves into the orphanage she grew up in along with her husband Carlos
and adopted son Simon in hopes of helping out special needs children.
While walking along the beach with his mother, Simon runs off into a
cave and is seen speaking to someone who isn't there. He claims he is
speaking to a boy named Tomas, but his mother dismisses this as just
an imaginary friend. A social worker named Beninga Escobeda
(Montserrat Carulla) arrives at the orphanage along with Simon's
adoption file which says that Simon is HIV-positive. Angered at her
intrusion, Laura kicks her out of the house. That night, Laura hears
a sound outside, and finds Beninga in her shed, carrying a shovel.
She escapes before Laura can stop her. The next day, Simon takes his
mother on a scavenger hunt, supposedly done by his invisible friends.
At the end of the game, he finds his adoption file and reveals to
Laura that he knows he is adopted and and is going to die. During a
children's party at the orphanage, Laura and Simon argue, causing
Simon to hide. While searching for him, Laura is trapped in the
bathroom by a boy in a mask with “Tomas” written on his clothes.
She is freed by Carlos, but they are unable to find Simon. Six months
go by with no clues as to Simon's whereabouts. Laura suddenly sees
Beninga crossing the street. As she gets out to confront her, Beninga
is hit and killed by a truck. It is revealed that Beninga used to
work at the orphanage and has a deformed son named Tomas that she
kept hidden beneath a sack mask. He was accidentally killed by the
children when they stole his mask. Laura hears strange banging sounds
in the house and other strange occurrences and contacts a medium to
have a séance. The medium sees sick children in the house, but does
not see Simon. Laura begins searching the orphanage, finding clues,
leading to her shed where she discovers the bodies of the children
who used to live at the orphanage. Laura recreates the original
orphanage and hopes to contact the ghosts of the children so they can
help her find Simon. Will it work or has Laura gone insane?
Gah! Kill it with fire!
The Orphanage was definitely not the
movie I thought I was going to watch. I expected a movie somewhere
along the lines of The Others or A Haunting In Connecticut. I thought
this was going to be a scary ghost story where the orphanage was
haunted by the souls of tortured children looking for revenge. That's
not how the movie played out, but it was for the best. More emphasis
is put on storytelling, character development, and solid acting than
your typical ghost movie and it's hard to complain about something
like that. The movie forgoes the usual scares and tricks which make
it a better movie, but does make it less of a horror movie. There are
scenes of general eeriness and the movie does leave the audience
feeling uneasy, but it's due more towards the content of the story
than any special effect or sound swell. This uneasiness reaches it's
zenith with the movies incredibly depressing, but sort of happy
ending. I liked it, but it was quite a bummer. There are plans to
adapt this movie for an American audience and I don't expect that
version to contain the same ending.
The movie is strong thanks to the great
acting. Belen Rueda brings genuine emotion to her role as Laura
causing the audience the share sympathy with her. The supporting cast
compliments her well, but she is the true star. J.A. Bayona does a
fine job directing with some good shots and an overall horror-style
atmosphere that lead to some tense moments. The movie relies more on
old-school atmospheric scares, which is a nice change of pace, but
there should have been more. The story is good, but it had a few plot
points that kind of bothered me. Unfortunately, I can't go into them
or else I'd ruin the movie, but there were a few basic things that,
in real life, would probably end the mystery a lot faster. Despite
being a foreign movie, I never felt lost in any cultural differences,
but did not feel catered to as an American viewer. That's far better
than a foreign movie trying to be an American horror movie.
Knock, knock, knockin' on Heaven's door
The Orphanage is a good movie built
around a good cast and film making. The story is decent, but did have
a few flaws that stuck with me after the credits rolled. The movie
lacked scares making it feel less like a traditional horror movie,
but the focus is always more on the story than terrifying the
audience. The sets look great and the scenery fits in well with the
overall feel of the movie. You won't be terrified by The Orphanage,
but you will be entertained.
7/10
