Horror movie after horror movie after horror movie follow the same hackneyed, boring, predictable cliche' antics we've been seeing ever since the dawn of the genre. Things pop out, violins snap, and you jump back in your seat and have a snicker at how freaky that half-a-second was for you. You then leave the movie without a hindrance of a lingering memory...
Then there are certain horror/suspense films that stay with you and have an emotional toll on your senses...El Orfanato (The Orphanage) direct from Spain is such a film.
The story isn't too complicated; it centers around a woman named Laura (Belen Rueda) who returns to her childhood orphanage after she gets married and adopts a son, Simon (Roger Princep) to turn it into a special care home for disabled children. Simon, who had been sheltered most of his life from other children, develops a sense for "imaginary friends" with whom he constantly plays with and alludes to. At first, Laura and her husband, Carlos (Fernando Cayo), both think that its just a phase and he will make friends with the new children that arrive at the home. However, situations with these "imaginary friends" seem to elevate in intensity when Laura realizes that either Simon is getting too psychologically involved with his friends or something else is very very wrong.
What ensues is a strange mystery that links Laura to her past at the orphanage which ultimately leads to the disappearance of Simon. In her struggle to recover him, she unveils a horrible secret and is pushed to her limits in order to get Simon back.
To start off, Rueda gives a powerhouse performance as Laura. Any audience will truly connect both to her emotions and her instincts that she inherently shows. A deep connection is felt between you and her through the screen, and its felt even after the movie is over.
Plot-wise, the story is pretty clever with a decently-written script, but the direction is where the technical aspect of The Orphanage shines. Beautifully and expertly shot in almost every scene, never giving away too much but giving the audience just enough. It dazzles the visual senses and enthralls you into wonder and bewilderment at every turn.
Perhaps the film's greatest success, though, is the horror/suspense of it. In a flood of horribly cheesy and gimmicky horror movies that recycle the same old style and pace, The Orphanage stands out and shines above the rest. Scares in the film are few and far between; this is because the scares are so expertly placed and the true terror you feel lies within you throughout the suspensful scenes. It's not the jumps that get you, it's the atmosphere, which is the hardest part of any horror movie to conceive succesfully.
However, The Orphanage certainly isn't perfect, and this lies within it's dull and drudgy narrative, specifically within the first half of the film. A lot of the eventual plot elements can be predictable and underwhelming, and while the suspense is fantastic and welcomed, it seems to overstay that welcome at times. There's points where you'll find yourself thinking "okay, we get it, its scary and she's upset...something needs to happen."
The second half of the film more than makes up for this, though, with Rueda's incredible visage on-screen, the atmospheric intensity, and the suspensful chills running through your veins. If you're sick of all the "Grudge" and "Ring" ripoffs and you want more than just gore and jumps you can find on YouTube, The Orphanage is a visual and engaging splendor of cinematic prowess. That is, if you can follow the narrative with the promise of a stupendous climax and conclusion. Personally, I'm curious to see where director Juan Bayona will go with his future endeavors and where horror movies as a whole will go with this new bar being set.
8/10
-Kyle Shelton
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