Well-crafted, but a boring unoriginal story makes this a boring unenjoyable film

Rating: 4/10 (4 December 2019)

While I have rated this film 4/10, I want to make clear that Bayona's directorial skill in his debut is actually excellent. This is a quality-made film. The direction, cinematography, set-design, editing and acting are all excellent. The problem with the overall film is that the story is completely unoriginal, paper-thin and simply not enjoyable.
I do not rate films based on their marketing. But it is important to say that this is not a horror movie. Nor is it a thriller. This film is best described as a tragic supernatural drama with a creepy setting and a few jump-scares.
The Good: Bayona uses a lot of slow and sometimes shaky camera pans. When coupled with the dark, creepy sets, and long, patient scenes, they are effective at creating fleeting moments of suspense. At times this film is reminiscent of The Others. However, these moments are very few and far between, mostly coming in the very short build-up to the film's easily predicted climax. Luckily Belén Rueda's passionate, over-the-top, but believable performance as a grieving, desperate mother helps to carry this film's creepy tone throughout.
The Bad: There is nothing original in the story and it borrows everything it brings from other successful films. The Devil's Backbone, The Others, Poltergeist, The Sixth Sense, and even The Shining are all drawn-from in the creation of this story. This isn't necessarily a bad thing (those are each excellent films) except that this film has so little substance of plot that it's hard to even make a comparison. The plot is so thin, you could write it out in two sentences. Aside from the main character Laura, each character is as cliche and thin as the plot.
Summary: This film is a credit to Bayona's directing ability. He's taken tired ghost story cliches and a lackluster script and managed to create a successful film that is praised by critics. For me, however, great direction, great acting, and quality film-making were not enough to save this sad, depressing, thin story and plodding, lackluster script from descending into forgettable obscurity. I love this genre, but found myself thoroughly bored during the film and disappointed by the lack of originality. For fans of actual supernatural thrillers who watch this - go in with low expectations and try to appreciate the quality of the film-making... because the story is completely drab.
Acting 8/10 Excellent, slightly over-the-top performance by Belén Rueda
Direction 8/10 Excellent debut for J.A. Bayona
Production Quality 8/10 Excellent cinematography, production design, editing.
Screenwriting 5/10 Average, but lackluster screenplay by Sergio G. Sánchez
Story 2/10 Been-there done-that unoriginal paper-thin ghost story
Overall 4/10 A boring, unoriginal story makes this a boring, unenjoyable film