Had expected more

Rating: 5/10 (10 February 2009)

What drew me to this movie was the comparison that was made in a newspaper article to "The Others" starring Nicole Kidman. Having seen that film and absolutely loved it, and being forewarned in the write-up that the viewer could expect even more from "The Orphanage", my expectations were accordingly high. Too high, perhaps. Granted, it does seem to have all the ingredients of a superb horror-mystery: There is the old house in the remote countryside, with its dark past, there are the strange going-ons that keep the viewer guessing whether there are beings from another dimension at work, or whether it is all in the characters' imagination. There are in fact many parallels to "The Others". All in all, however, there was hardly a moment where I felt chained to my seat, scared even to look over my shoulder, like I did when watching "The Others". I admit, there were a few scenes that sent a short jolt through my body, but that was about it. I was missing the ongoing tension, the suspense of not knowing what awaited me around the next corner. It all felt a bit predictable to me, a bit flat. All a bit "been there, done that". To sum it up, in my view it does not live up to the expectations raised by the comparison made to "The Others", and it seems to prove how difficult it is to make a horror film that doesn't need special effects and blood, but offers nail-biting suspense from beginning to end. Few movies I have seen over the years were able to provide that, and this is, unfortunately, not one of them.