'The Orphanage' scared the hell out of me

Rating: 8/10 (22 June 2012)

When I was a young boy, I recall sneaking downstairs and turning the TV on late at night, and watching shows that absolutely terrified me. 'The Orphanage' made me feel like that terrified little kid again. I watched it in 2007, and it scared me more than any other movie I've seen since.
One of the more intelligent horror films I've seen - its story driven, requires that non-Spanish speakers read subtitles, and wasn't created around CGI effects. This is all contrary to what people have come to expect from horror movies these days. The genre has sadly been supported by little more than ultra-gore, weak remakes of 70's and 80's films, tired CGI tricks, and the super fast clip editing that's been used to portray nearly every single film ghost in the last 15 years.
This is true psychological horror, intertwined with mystery, drama, suspense, and old school scary-as-hell ghost story.