Bloodtype Online
For the best of the Horror/Cult/Exploitation film experience
The Orphanage (2007)
Produced by Guillermo del Toro and directed by Juan Antonio Bayona "The Orphanage" is the story of a woman that decides to movie home where she grew up at an orphanage for children that are handicapped. Things are fine at first with her husband, son Simon, and herself living there. Then as Simon starts getting more and more invisible friends things start to get even stranger in the house. There is a game going on with Simon and his friends and one day after disappearing at a family party. As Laura (the mother) tries to find him she finds that there may be more going on at the home than she originally though involving her past.
Although "The Orphanage" is slick looking and is creepy on a few different levels there are flaws to the film. Personally I found it to be a little bit too long and if it was cut down a good 10 minutes or so it would have certainly benefitted from it. The pace of the film sits still at certain points in the middle and although the atmosphere and wonderful cinematography get you through it, there are times where it gets tiresome.
The acting in the film is another strong point that makes it a better experience throughout. Belén Rueda as Laura does a great job as a mother in distress that's desperately trying to find her little boy. She's convincing, engaging, and I thought she was perfect for the role.
I absolutely loved the party scene in which all of the children are dressed up in costumes. It's odd because a lot of the children have what looks to be down syndrome and they are putting masks on them. I'm not sure if there's some type of statement there or what, but it's a very disturbing sequence with the way it pan's out.
Another thing that was very cool was the costume of the child wearing the bag over it's face. It worked within the story of the movie and was actually cool when it was featured on screen. There's also a lot of other stuff within the story that explain why children like this would walk around masked anyway and I liked the tie in's that they managed to use to explain it all.
Overall I would recommend checking this one out as it is a pretty decent movie regardless of the flaws that it has. Visually it's great and is one of the more interesting looking films I've seen from a foreign director recently with the use of atmosphere to fill out a story. It's a admirable attempt and works on a lot of different levels. It's worth a rental if you are curious but if you are fan of ghost movies or even del Toro's work, then you may want to purchase this one.
Rating - **1/2
-Ed Demko
