...The film's comparison... (to) older brother "El Fauno del Laberinto" is unwarranted..."El Orfanato" might be guilty of producing half-empty calories.

Rating: 8/10 (24 July 2008)

Juan Antonio Bayona directs the above average ghost story "El Orfanato". Produced by creature-feature maestro Guillermo del Toro, picture derives a substantial amount from del Toro's previous work, specially its sense of dread and an ending that isn't far from the Oscar nominated "El Fauno del Laberinto". "El Orfanato" may not be as rich in themes and undertones as "Labertino", but audiences will be healthily rewarded by a horror story driven by plot and consequence.
Film focuses on Ofelia (Belen Rueda), a husband to Carlos (Fernando Cayo) and a mother to Simon (Roger Princep), as she ventures back to her old orphanage after being adopted an odd 30 years ago. Returning to start her own orphanage for special children, she slowly uncovers what happened to her friends (and discovers some more) when she left, and of course, complications arise when Simon disappears under mysterious circumstances. Film takes its time to tell the story and brazen enough to use suspense and not cheap frights to liven up the proceedings.
Directed with confidence, "El Orfanato" remains atmospheric until its very last shot. Bayona effortlessly steers clear from a run-in-the-mill horror story, but would rather line the film to movies like "The Others" and "The Shining", to tease the audience of the possible doom that may arise. This exercise pays dividends as tiny scenes from the first half of the movie eventually resurfaces at the last act to produce some truly sinister goings on. Creaky swing sets moving with the wind among others, further attribute to the what-might-be-out-there vibe the film possesses.
When the main protagonist becomes desperate and seeks out a clairvoyant to help with the search, the movie effortlessly screams terror  definitely one of the film's highlights. Basically begging for the audience to sit up and listen, it becomes a pivotal point in the story as it brings everything up to a boil and pushes the film to the worthy finale. Hints of skepticism from a police investigator and Carlos are especially welcome here.
Another movie that tries to erase the line between fantasy and reality, the film ends on a lighter note as we discover the function of the ghoulish apparitions. Del Toro needs to consider a patent with this technique as it is about one movie close to being cliché. It might even beg the question: what came first, the chicken or the egg? Gladly though, protagonist Ofelia is empathetic enough as the maternal figure, that an audience member weary of such ending would easily be forgiving. Final two scenes involving Carlos should definitely have been excised.
Wrapped in a more mainstream packaging even with a foreign language, "El Orfanato" delivers the goods as a ghost story. However, the film's comparison to the much more complicated, sophisticated and intelligent older brother "El Fauno del Laberinto" is unwarranted, as in contrast to that, "El Orfanato" might be guilty of producing half-empty calories. Nevertheless, the movie deserves attention as a well-crafted story about motherly instincts and its blurry altruistic boundaries.