Brilliantly atmospheric ghost story

Rating: 10/10 (27 March 2008)

Guillermo Del Toro has uncovered a real talent in director Juan Antonio Bayona. El Orfanto is easily the best film I've seen this year. It's so good that it is up there with Del Toro's best - The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth. Belén Rueda puts in an excellent central performance as Laura, who moves back into the house that used to be the orphanage she lived in as a girl, along with her husband and adopted son, Simon. The acting and cinematography are excellent and the sound effects are outstanding, really bringing the old house to life. It's not often that a film can make me jump nowadays but one scene in particular nearly had me on the ceiling (you'll know the one I mean). Scary, sad and at the same time quite uplifting, I loved this film and would wholeheartedly recommend it. 10/10.