El orfanato

Laura (Belen Rueda) returns to the orphanage she spent time in as a child with her husband Carlos (Fernando Cayo) and little boy Simon (Roger Princep) in hopes of re-establishing it as seaside retreat for children with disabilities only to find there may be some former residents who never left. In Juan Antonio Bayona's tightly wound "The Orphanage" nothing is as it seems and child's play takes on sinister overtones.

Bayona belongs to this new wave of Spanish-language directors (most notably Del Torro and Amenabar) who excel when it comes to creating moody atmospheric tales of the supernatural with Catholic overtones. Whereas "Pan's Labyrinth" took a dark fantasy approach to a Passion Play, "The Orphanage" is closer to the classic haunted house themes of "The Others" as it attempts to give a sentimental view of life after death. Be warned, "The Orphanage" is often more sad than scary, and those not familiar with Catholic mysticism might find things a bit hard to believe. As goes the film's mantra...Believe, Then You Will See. Those with the patience and the heart will be greatly rewarded as the audience doesn't necessarily have to Believe to relate to the characters who do.

Working from refined "less is more" psychological horror templates, Bayona delivers the formulaic goods. There will be a simplistic but heartfelt exploration of grief. There will be allusions to classic literature (in this case a very nicely done "Peter Pan" as Catholic allegory motif). There will be uncovering dark secrets from the past. There will be precocious children with spooky imaginary friends. There will be creaking set designs and manipulative sound effects to create "gotcha!" moments. There will be a creepy medium (an excellent Geraldine Chaplin) brought in for a séance. And there will be a twist at the end.

Thankfully, there is also a great performance from Belen Rueda as Laura. She gives a compelling portrayal of a woman devoured by her loss and achingly desperate for the truth no matter how horrific that truth might be. One must have a cold heart not to find sympathy with her, and even the most hardened audience member will find it hard not to feel that stray tear form in the corner of their trembling eye when all is revealed. "The Orphanage" offers nothing terribly new, but sometimes the same old ghost story presented in a beautiful way makes for the best type of cold-rainy-day entertainment.

Attended the first commercial screening of The Orphanage (El Orfanato) last night at FrightFest, London.

Juan Antonio Bayona and writer Sergio G. Sanchez have delivered something really special for their first feature.

I have never jumped out of my seat like I did last night, nor my partner, nor most of the audience it seemed. Apart from the terrific scares, there are solid performances from the whole cast, stunning cinematography, and the editing is flawless. If I had to criticise one element, it is that the music swells just a little too much a couple of times, but it is a good score nonetheless.

See this one at the cinema.

As a child Laura was in an orphanage until she was adopted young. Years later she has returned to the building with her husband and adopted child Simón with the aim of making it both their home and also a place for the care of special children.. Simón has his own challenges, one of which is his reliance on imaginary friends, but when he claims to have met one in particular, Tomás, things take a very dark turn for the worse.

After a few weeks of listening to mark Kermode praising this film, I got myself along to a cinema to see it. What I found was not the amazing, earth-shattering film that some had claimed – but this is a common thing for good foreign films, they tend to be extra praised because they are foreign. Don't let my sentences put you off though because this is a very effective and enjoyable ghost story. Director Bayona uses the devices that you'll have seen other films of the same ilk using but the thing is he does it really well. The creeping camera is used several times without a related payoff, producing a constant air of tension that is almost a relief (in a perverse way) when a proper scare does come. As many others have said it is very unnerving rather than gory, with slow movement replacing jump scares and so on, all to good effect.

The story is no slouch either and it is built on the desperation of Laura and the loss of her treasure. This puts a very human heart to the ghost story, engaging the viewer and making it easier for scepticism to be put to one side, even if only for a few hours. The narrative carries a satisfying arch that is ultimately as tragic as it is "happy" and as relatable as it fantastic. To put it another way, when a specific scare was not happening/about to happen, I was still interested in what was happening and boredom never occurred. The cast deliver well too. Rueda is the heart of the film and she is convincing throughout. Cayo's Carlos is a lot less important but he plays his character well. Príncep's Simón is the right kid for the job as his matter-of-fact lack of fear adds to the story. The rest of the child cast are weaker but mostly their creepy silent presence is all that is required.

The Orphanage is not anything new or brilliant then but it is very efficient and effective. The story is a strong base for a consistently creepy air that is expertly delivered by Bayona, who makes it all look easy.

The Orphanage is a slick and quietly chilling piece of work based around (what else?) an orphanage. A woman named Laura returns to the orphanage she grew up in as a child, with the intention of opening it up again as a home for children with disabilities. Together with her husband and adopted son Simon, Laura tries to make the huge old building ready to receive it's first new residents, but all is not quiet in the dusty rooms and grounds, and gradually she starts to feel sinister presences from the past making themselves known.

The film strings out quite a good story, blending traditional scares (bumping noises heard through walls and doors, silently appearing children in masks) with modern touches (Simon is HIV positive). Although most of the actual frights are on the soft side, the film does have quite away with sudden shocks, especially one great sequence involving the death of a sinister secondary character...you'll know when you see it! But mostly, things stay pretty calm, and there were times when I was wishing for something more visceral to actually happen, as many of the very well built tension sequences fade away without any cinematic pay-off, such as a very tense séance sequence, and in most of the (many) scenes of Laura alone in the orphanage, she being almost too subtly menaced for things to get really scary, which I think is a shame. However there are certain moments when you WILL jump!

However, The Orphanage still stands up as a strong piece of work. The backbone of the film is undoubtedly the strong performance by Belén Rueda as Laura, who carries the entire film admirably. The film looks great, with stunning photography and very elegant sets and a gorgeous building standing in for the orphanage itself. Sound and music work very well too, and the film succeeds in working many small elements together (such as a playground hiding game and some very clever revelations towards the end), so all in all, the film is an accomplished piece of cinema and well worth seeing, although don't expect too much real terror as most of the chills in this film are poetic rather than gruesome.

Let me begin by saying I DON'T like horror movies. I don't enjoy jumping in my seat. I don't like being afraid of the dark for the next 2 days, and I usually HATE Spanish movies. So usually I only see the big horror classics, and that is because I've read enough spoilers to confront the movie in a laid-back way.

Having said this, I was dragged to see this movie against my will. And I was right! I have never, EVER, been more uneasy, uncomfortable on any movie, from the Exorcist to the Prophecy, from Psycho to Halloween. The story seems obvious; the cliché-horror themes are there, and while I saw them coming, I was comfortable enough. But then comes the movie, the script, the score, the acting, all in perfect harmony... and you jump, and you chill and you shout and you wish you had never entered that dammed cinema.

It is good. It is great.It is moving and horrifying. It does not need CGI, sound effects or unreal characters. Its there. Its real. Its haunting. It WILL be a classic.

Chapeau!