All Ghost's Aside

Rating: 9/10 (26 November 2007)

While the door to Horror is always open and sometimes all too inviting, many falling to the depths of its dark abyss, it is refreshing to see a new face conquer the fear head on. J.A. Bavona is already leaving the first circle of Hell unscathed, prevailing at the box office in Spain, while having already been blessed by the god that is Guillermo Del Toro. "The Orphanage" at first sight may seem all too easy to categorize as a ghost story with supernatural tendencies, but as any viewer will certainly see, character development and acting make a splash in this debut feature.
Just as Mr. Del Toro did in "The Devil's Backbone" a ghost(s) frightens the unsuspecting, because who really expects to see a pale hologram of a person, with a vendetta or maybe just in need of some help. Of course Laura (Belen Rueda from "The Sea Inside") is hesitant to believe that her son, Simon, played by the curly haired wunderkind Roger Princep, has "upgraded" his imaginary friends for those of the departed. This happens of course after the family moves into a house that was once used as an orphanage and where Laura spent some of her childhood.
Needless to say, after Simon goes missing during a party at the new house, Laura must now believe. What follows is so deliberate and well paced that even the most suspecting viewer will feel chills. Mr. Bavona throws a little Hitchcock at you, rubs your nose in Polanski, while creating depth that De Palma wishes he could possess.