Beautifully haunting

Rating: 9/10 (30 May 2008)

A few months ago, I had heard little things here and there about The Orphanage, how it was a new scary movie by the famous presenter Guillermo del Toro who also directed Hellboy and Pans Labyrith. So you know there's going to be death and scary kids in the movie. Seeing this movie however, wasn't so easy, one of my co-workers saw the movie and said that it was really good, unfortunately I couldn't find it in any local theater, so I had to wait for the rental, which I got this week and watched The Orphanage today, this was truly a great ghost story. It was definitely more original than most, considering it wasn't relying on the jumps to get you screaming, it was noise, the surroundings, the actors, the story, it just gets you all up in your nerves.
Laura grew up in an orphanage, but was adopted, she later in life takes over the orphanage with her husband and adopted son, Simon. She plans to re-open the place and offer it to other children. But when Simon tells Laura that he's made some new friends, friends that she assumes are imaginary are actually ghosts that are haunting Simon, causing strange behavior and scary noises to occur in the house. But Simon and Laura get into a fight, when Laura goes to find Simon, he's completely disappeared and Laura must find clues to unlock the mystery of the orphanage.
This is not only one of the best foreign films I've seen, it's one of the better ghost stories. There is no Hollywood effects, this all takes back to when the writers cared and respected their audience enough to give them credit on their imagination. I just loved the ending, how it gave a different twist than what we are normally used too, you'll have to see what I mean because I totally recommend this movie to anyone. It's classy, well acted and presented, this is going to be a classic in the future.
9/10