A haunted house film that finally works.

Rating: 8/10 (8 July 2009)

Horror films are few and far between these days; in fact it's almost a dead genre in the west. Gore and torture pornography centred films like Saw and Hostel seem to have stole the foundations of horror and instead of focusing on truly scaring people through suspense, meticulous direction and script, these films focus solely on shocking people. Now, I'm all for shocking people in horror films; it kind of comes with the territory, but this is not solely what horror is. I usually regard a horror film as successful when a certain feeling or scene stays with me for a day after seeing it, if it can indent the terror, maybe even play with your mind after viewing it, the film has done its job. Therefore I now look to Asia for my horror because thankfully they still understand that while the genre must progress, it must also still scare. However, with the release of The Orphanage it appears I should also keep my eye on Spain. When first looking at The Orphanage's plot outline I was less than enthralled, in fact I almost didn't watch it. I've never liked haunted house films, even The Shining failed to impress me, which is seen as one of the best horror films of all time by most people. Due to this I almost passed this film up, but I'm glad I didn't because I've finally found a haunted house film that I not only liked but also could sincerely call horror. After saying this, even though in my mind this is possibly the best haunted house film I've ever seen it is still just that, meaning do not expect to watch this film and see it completely redefine horror because it doesn't.
The plot has been done many times before and many of the characteristics of previous films find their way into this one. It tells the tale of a woman named Laura, who as a child lived in an orphanage for a number of years before being adopted. At thirty seven she brings her family back to her childhood home in hopes to turn the now abandoned house into an orphanage for the handicapped. Her son's innocent games with imaginary friends soon develop into something more serious and disturbing and everything starts going a bit strange Have you heard this one before? I'm sure you have, as you probably guessed the story involves strange paranormal happenings, ghosts, creeks in the floorboards and numerous other elements seen before. But even though you realise this while watching it, the knowledge that your watching a 'haunted house' film washes away and the film completely draws you into its story and world. This is done by taking everything about the genre that works well and simply focusing on making these elements the best they can possibly be without complicating things too much. For this the first time director Juan Antonio Bayona should be given huge credit. The film is perfectly paced, with the exact right amount of time spent at the beginning introducing the characters and making sure the audience is firmly rooted in Laura's character so that we experience everything with her as the film progresses. Due to this fine beginning everything in the film works much better for it, the scares have greater impact because we care what's happening to Laura and unlike some films they don't come at you in rapid succession. Like in a comedy where the joke is built up to the punch line, the scare is given enough support before scream moment and even though a lot of them have been done before, these ones actually genuinely scare. With there only being one location really used in the film, it appears the filmmakers had the time and resources to focus on using the house to create a natural atmosphere. Instead of showing off clever CGI effects and as much of the horror as possible, they opted for the subtle approach; creating suspense with excellent lighting and diverse camera work. This gives the film a more mysterious, realist feeling that helps make the film world that much more believable. One film you could quite rightly compare The Orphanage to is 2001's The Others. It has a very similar plot and almost the exact same setting, but for some reason it never affected me. This could be down to many reasons, but after watching The Orphanage I think the acting had a lot to do with it. Belén Rueda's performance as Laura is quite simply excellent. Like the direction she displays all the normal characteristics of a character, wrapped up in a surreal story during the course of the film; bewilderment, fear, insanity and all the other emotions a character must go though. But the reason why you care about her and feel so connected to her throughout the film is because she plays a mother perfectly. There is nothing more important to her than her son and she displays this so convincingly that when the end of the film hits, the affect of the conclusion resonates that much more because you feel the emotions that Laura feels.
All in all The Orphanage is one of the best horror films of recent memory; it takes the 'haunted house' device and uses it in a way I don't think any other film in recent memory has. The directing is a triumph and has great help from superb acting by Belén Rueda and a mature understanding of how to craft a horror film. The only real negative of the film is its complete lack of originally, which is unfortunate, but it does give you a top quality representation of what it borrows from. Therefore if you can get passed this flaw and you want an atmospherically rich, well-paced, scary horror film then this is you best bet for modern cinema.