Back to the routes of horror!!

Rating: 9/10 (24 March 2008)

The Orphanage is a very well made, good old fashioned horror. It tells of a woman called Laura (Belen Rueda) that returns to the abandoned orphanage where she was raised, with the hope of re-opening it for a new generation of children. During the course of the film Laura's child goes missing and she is forced to shelve her plans of re-opening. The event compels Laura to spend more time in the house hoping that her child will return and results in her confronting her sanity. In sticking to an old fashioned premise the films employs a various amount of techniques and methods commonly attributed to films of this genre. The highlights being the big old house, creepy visitors, strange occurrences and things that go bump in the night.
It is quite conceivable to think that any film that utilises such clichés and generic scare tactics is doing nothing new and can be dismissed as being unoriginal and possibly unimaginative. To the contrary, in bravely addressing the very routes of the genre the director, and writer, have produced a masterpiece in contemporary horror. The film is an excellent rendition of the classic bedtime horror story, told with atmospheric direction and brilliantly placed plot occurrences. It is an emotional film that reaches to the very heart of fear whilst re-establishing the genre in the minds of contemporary cinema goers. The Orphanage is film that is intelligently made and will go on to become a definitive horror film, much in the same way as Jacobs Ladder, Don't Look Now, Rosemary's Baby and The Sixth Sense – all films that carry similar themes.
Those that aren't familiar with those previous films or wish to have their thrills in the form of Saw or Hostel will no doubt find The Orphanage tame and those that get their kicks from Asian horror (Gin gwai, Ringu etc) could also feel begrudged. In a disagreement with these films The Orphanage doesn't allow itself to be drawn into using one scare technique and continuously exploiting it throughout, nor does it prey on teenage anxieties or irrational fears. Instead the film embarks on a much more intellectual (and bold) approach and investigates one of the most basic primeval fears, that of losing a child. In exploring such a fear it is only fitting that all the characters be played well, and they are. Their fall from grace and their reaction to the events are brilliantly complemented by the well directed and paced plot. The timing of the scares and the execution of them are also done to perfection. All of these qualities add up to the film being a refreshing experience that, consequentially, sticks two fingers up to the recent and predictably made horror films churned out by Hollywood (1408, Vacancy etc).
Ultimately The Orphanage is an encouraging debut feature from the director Juan Antonia Bayona and shows a lot of potential. The film is dark, mysterious and harrowing like Guillermo del Toro's Pans Labyrinth - which also has child at the heart of the film. Both films also drive home the extreme capabilities of imagination and dissolution.The film is presented by del Toro and, in much the same way Tarantino presented Hostel, there is no real direct evidence of his efforts on the screen. Instead The Orphanage is more of a continuation of the style and characteristics associated with his film-making. Those that, like me, have been pining for a classical contemporary horror should look no further than The Orphanage.