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The best horror film of the year.
by Ted (movies profile)
Jun 15, 2008
3
of
3 people found this review helpful
This movie is nothing short of a masterpiece. Juan Antonio Bayona is a first-time director of a full-length movie. But if this is just the beginning, I can't wait to see what he will do next. The Orphanage is a very scary movie. But it isn't just a horror film. There is so much more to it. The reason it is the top horror film of the year and one of the best films of the year is because it partially centers around a truly poignant story of grief. Having said that, if you're looking for a jumpy horror movie, you could look no farther than The Orphanage.
It takes place, obviously, in an orphanage. Laura (Belen Rueda), grew up there prior to her adoption. Now she is married to Carlos (Fernanado Cayo) and has a son, Simon (Roger Princep). She intends to renovate and create a home for mentally handicapped children. It will also serve as a nice home for Simon, who is adopted and is HIV positive, but doesn't know either of these things. Things get moving when Benigna (Montserrat Carulla) arrives. She is a social worker. At first she appears insignificant but she is central to the story.
As you would expect, creepy things start to happen in the house. Floors creak. Doors slam. But the eeriest events center around the imaginative Simon. He has a number of imaginary friends. His newest, whom he meets at a cave near a beach, is Tomas. Laura sees Simon talking to Tomas, but she can't see him. Presumably because he's imaginary.
At an mask party with the new children to celebrate the reopening of the orphanage. At the party, Laura has a violent encounter with a mysterious boy with a frightening burlap sack mask. This is the face that you have been seeing in all of the ads for this film. He looks quite scary. Shortly afterwards, Simon disappears.
The boy in the mask is Tomas. The clever thing about the way he is used is that he is never seen again in the film, except on film transcripts. There is some backstory to him. The first scene with Tomas is so menacing that he doesn't need to be seen ever again. The threat of his appearance is enough, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat for most of the film.
The film is essentially a ghost story, but it centers around Laura's search for her son. It isn't "Without a Trace" though. The police are barely involved. There is just one sympathetic police psychologist who makes a couple of appearances. What it really is is an emotional journey by Laura to find her child.
The Orphanage is a ghost story, something that isn't seen that much anymore. It was probably ready for a revitalization, and this film did just that. It was one of the scariest movies I have ever seen. There are about six or seven jump-out-of-your seat moments, and the rest of the movie is so intense that you are on the edge of your seat. It's exhausting to watch this movie. It is so engaging and so effective frightening the audience. The scares are true scares - they are not characterized by excessive gore. There is one graphic scene, but it is held off for as long as it can, and the gore doesn't provide the scare. It's simply there as a realistic part of the film.
The atmosphere of an old orphanage is alreayd creepy. Even before any backstory is revealed, you get the feeling of dark, disturbing events in the past that have come back to haunt the home. The house is entirely frightening. It is very creaky and old. There is a menacing playground set that creaks often, usually to build up to an intense scene. The stairs and walls are old and frightening. It is filled with odd shadows and lurking corners.
Even scenes that don't make you jump can be inherently eerie. There is one fantastic sequence that is in many ways the turning point of the story. Laura has hired a medium(Geraldine Chaplin, Charlie Chaplin's daughter) to look for any ghosts. Everything that you see of her is seen through video cameras with a ghastly green lighting. Chaplin is terrific. She describes with horror the appearance of 5 sickly children, and you can hear them crying. The scene is very scary, but it doesn't make you jump. You should also watch out for a scene involving the quote "1,2,3, knock on the wall". That is a very fearsome scene.
The Orphanage is largely scary because of the terrific direction of Bayona. He makes terrific use of lighting and sound. I have one flaw with his direction, and it is the only flaw I have with this entire movie. At the beginning of the movie, the score swells a bit too obviously for me. That is the only way Bayona could improve this movie. He shoots many outdoor scenes from the woods, so as to make you think that someone is watching. He has long cuts that make for 4 or 5 terrific scenes. He uses zooms subtly and effectively so as to build up to the scare. In short, Bayona is a revelation. He is just the latest great director to come out the apparent Spanish-Mexico amazing director machine.
I am feeling that there is quite a significant Spanish-Mexican wave that is hitting its peak. There are a few directors that are becoming some of my favorites - Alfonso Cuaron, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Guillermo Del Toro, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, and now Juan Bayona. Not all of their films are out of Spain or Mexico (Fresnadillo's 28 Weeks Later is a British film), but the directors are out of Spain or Mexico. Last year, the movies they had were Children of Men, Babel, and Pan's Labyrinth. This year, I have seen 28 Weeks Later and now The Orphanage. 28 Weeks Later is a damn good movie, but this is by far its superior.
Sergio Sanchez's screenplay is tight and terrifying, but it also features a beautiful story of loss. Laura is overwhelmed by a motherly grief for the loss of her son, and she is fiercely determined to find him. Sanchez blends reality with fantasy in a couple of scenes, and these serve to highlight her grief even more. The story ends simply and beautifully. This is a very intelligent movie. I could only describe it as horror with a heart.
If this film needed any carrying, Rueda would be up to the task. As it is, the movie is so good that her brilliant performance is a bonus. She is absolutely perfect for the role. It isn't often that women get good roles these days actually. But this is a terrific role. It isn't just the cliched "mother-looking-for-her-lost child, cries a lot, no one believes her" role. Not to say that those things don't happen. But she is also fiercely determined to find her child in a realistic way.
Her husband, Carlos, is not in any way a bad man just because he doesn't believe her. He doesn't force anything on her, even though he deals with the grief about Simon better than she does. Cayo is nearly as good as Rueda. His performance is a little bit more understated than hers.
This is an absolutely beautiful film. If you have a chance to see it, go for it. There are a lot of real scares, but it also features another very real story behind the horror foil.
If you are put off by the subtitles, don't by. There is nothing wrong with subtitles. Anyone who put a bad review about this movie because of the subtitles is an imbecile. There was this one moron who suggested that it be made in American. Not English, American. Besides the fact that this guy can't even say the name of his own language, he doesn't seem to realize that you shoot the film in the language of the country that it is made in. We Americans don't make Pirates of the Carribean in Russian for Russian people. We put it in subtitles. Why do you think the world has to make everything especially for American viewers. Anyone who complains about subtitles, shut up. Shut the hell up. This is a great movie. Don't be bothered with the subtitles. If you're that stupid, this movie will probably just go over your head anyway. |
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