Hidden Gems: The Orphanage

8 months ago 12th Mar 10:04

In 2006 Pan's Labyrinth was the toast of the film world and, in 2008, Guillermo Del Toro, although this time he is only in a producing role, has once again produced a little gem of Spanish cinema with this great, and rather chilling, movie.

Laura (Belen Rueda) returns with her husband Carlos (Fernando Cayo) and adopted child Simon (Roger Princep) to the large manor where she was raised in an orphanage as a child. Laura is determined to fix up the abandoned house and open it as a refuge for ill children.

But from the moment she returns, the past begins to haunt her. It isn't long before she begins to see the children who she used to play with as a seven-year-old. And when Simon goes missing one afternoon, she's convinced that they have taken him hostage.

What follows is a murky descent into Laura's mind, where she doesn't know what is real and what is a figment of her tortured imagination.

A foreign movie that requires subtitles is a real turn off for many people but The Orphanage really should be the exception to the rule for people who try to avoid these types of movies as it is absolutely a must see.

The film plays on a parent's deepest fears: a child being hurt, lost, taken or, which packs a greater punch, leaving of their own accord. It also prays on our unrecognised fear of children and how their vulnerability makes us, as parents, vulnerable.

This is not horror for those who queued up to see the Saw rubbish and, for fans of Del Toro, you can his input all over the film as director Bayona shares the same arty and beautiful view of horror movies. This view is what makes the film work so well it doesn't have to be gory and in your face to truly chill you to the bone.

Bayona uses the constant sense of unease as his tool to frighten the audience, an old run down building complete with creaking staircases with a troubled past is the perfect setting to create that unsettling feeling.

And what is so impressive about this is film is it has been delivered by an entire crew of newcomers with first time director Juan Antonio Bayona and first time screen writer Sergio G. Sanchez leading the pack.

With references to Peter Pan Bayona beautifully blends horror with a fairytale and doesn't rely on CGI or special effects to deliver it's frightening punch, which in itself is a breath of fresh air.

Belén Rueda is simply superb as Laura, the tortured parent on a desperate search to find her son as well as uncover the truth behind a building that she once called home.

Underneath the exterior of a horror movie lies a touching tale of motherhood and love and how far you will go to protect your children.

The Orphanage is more than your average horror film as it sits at the classy end of this genre and director Juan Antonio Bayona has a really promising future as this is outstanding for a debut picture.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw