The Orphanage

Bravo! The Spaniards confirm once more their privileged position on the horror scene. The Orphanage doesn’t surprise with an original plot but with its ability to generate true fear and tension through a strong effect on the subconscious. The entire film relies on a very carefully built atmosphere that forces the viewer to feel fear, even if there is nothing to really be afraid of, there aren’t any heart-attack inducing jump-scares, no manifestations of terrifying ghosts; everything works with sounds, plays with light and dark, and the camera movements. (2008-02-14)

Along with Persepolis and In Bruges, this was my strongest film experience of this year, which provided me the great experience of an honest, stylish, and haunting spectacle, supported by a strong story, well-chosen exteriors, high-quality performances, good camera work, and a few clever directing ideas. It is exactly the kind of film that leads to the urge to lower the ratings of several dozen other titles after watching it because many other genre films seem desperately superficial compared to The Orphanage, and which do not evoke fear, but rather satisfy sadistic desires hidden to some extent in each of us (Saw). The Orphanage is a film about the fear of losing a loved one and the fear of failure and personal responsibility. What could be more terrifying for a mother than the loss of her child? The Orphanage is a film that works without necessarily needing a gigantic budget and a barrage of grand special effects. Overall impression: 95%. (2008-09-20)

Something that completely passed me by in Pan's Labyrinth then caught up with me in The Orphanage. The fragile tension between the children's world, intimate family drama, and irrational belief in the world "beyond our world" works brilliantly here, not least because Bayon evokes the atmosphere convincingly, lightly, and with the necessary portion of winking at the "decadence" of this somewhat Victorian story. Sometimes things get out of hand luxuriously (the episode with the grandmother who gets it in the face, the frantic search for the son, accompanied by cuts on a stormy sea - isn't the film Spanish?), but it’s mostly very moderate and clever - the slow camera movement works much better than sharp cuts. I fell in love with The Orphanage, including the ending, which should in fact have been edited down a bit. (2013-01-30)

I rewatched this film years later and I'm disappointed at how little there is in it. Guillermo Del Toro, the ratings in the red numbers and the fact that the film is more or less a cult-classic in the genre beckoned for an exclusive horror experience, but unfortunately I didn't get that at all. Cinematically, The Orphanage is modest and makes do with a couple of actors, one house and a fine tale of the orphanage's dark past, but as a whole it's kind of bland and without much emotion. A weak average, for which I had expectations for a full score, and I was all the more disappointed by the result. (2022-09-07)

It's a good genre film, without any serious flaws or mistakes, and it’s actually refined to the point where I felt perfect sterility. The family relationships are sketched very broadly, without any intimacy, so I didn't even remotely believe in the protagonist’s obsession with finding her son. Admittedly, it has its good moments, and the point is a pleasant surprise, but the path to it all is too formally transparent. I give it a better three stars. (2010-03-01)