The Orphanage-International horror film Blu-ray movie review
August 27, 2008
Bone chilling terrors with a hint of the fantastic await the audience. Produced by Guillermo Del Toro, The Orphanage continues the tradition the filmmaker started with films like The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth, by showing the darker sides of humanity through frightening fantasies. In many ways Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona has applied Del Toro's own winning formula to The Orphanage and has made the most flawless film of this lineage.
The Orphanage tells the story of Laura who returns to the abandoned orphanage where she was raised in order to re-open it as a home for children with disabilities. Along with her husband and adopted son Simon who is HIV Positive, she prepares the orphanage to receive its new residents but all is not as it seems, and steadily the sins of the past begin to resurface through a series of ghostly happenings. Screenwriter Sergio G. Sánchez does a masterful job of balancing the thriller with the drama. Laura's attempts to connect with everything that haunts her and her home are darkly touching, though slightly psychologically twisted. The acting is strong, and the directing, editing, cinematography, and music all work together well. Some of the sound effects - the constant creaking, wind blowing, etc. - got wearisome as the film went on, and some of the thrills were a little cheap - I won't ruin it for anyone by revealing them - though, admittedly, they were effective all the same. The story dragged a little towards the end and during the scene with the medium - cutting it just a little shorter might have been equally as effective and easier on the viewer.
And finally, the ending is bittersweet. It isn't a typical American ending in that everything is wrapped up and presented to the audience with a bow. It isn't a sanitized ending, and it isn't necessarily a perfectly happy ending. I like that. It seems more real to me. I hate the fact that we Americans tend to want a sugary sweet ending so we can walk out and smile about the film without any more thought given. In fact, the last American film I can think of that didn't deliver the sappy ending was Sandra Bullock's "Premonition", and it flopped at the theater.It's nothing stunning, but in the world of horror films, it easily stands a shoulder above the regular flotsam that the genre tends to churn out. At that, it's no terrible film and could be recommended if you're looking for a relatively intelligent and well composed supernatural horror-type film. Just don't expect bloodbaths and constant shocks.
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