The Orpanage

My Rating

(out of 5 envelopes):

MPAA Rating: R

Runtime: 105 minutes

Genre: Foreign, Thriller, Drama, Mystery, Suspense

Now I’m not the biggest fan of scary movies. I usually like something with a little more substance to it. The Orphanage, however, has both a good plot and the ability to freak you out.

Laura purchases the old orphanage where she spent the early years of her childhood in hope to make it into a home for disabled children. Shortly after they move into their new home, Laura’s son Simón begins to playing with his new imaginary friends. At a welcoming party, Simón suddenly vanishes. As Laura tries to get her son back, a whole new mystery about her new home unravels. Produced by Guillermo del Toro (producer, writer, and director of Pan’s Labyrinth).

This movie will leave you on the edge of your seat, it will creep you out, it will give you chills. This movie wasn’t so much scary as it is creepy for me (although there where some parts where I couldn’t look because I was too terrified to see what was going to happen). This movie uses some great techniques to evoke a response from the audience. There were parts of the film where I was cringing because I was terrified to see what was coming next.

One of the reasons for that was the suspenseful music. I think music is key in thrillers and this one definitely nailed it. The acting in this film was great; Belén Rueda (who plays Laura) was perfect for the role. The cinematography also played a huge role in the creep out factor. Even just the way the light falls into the room added to the overall eerie feeling.

The best thing about this movie was plot! It’s great to see a suspense movie made these days that had a real plot and wasn’t all about gore and unrealistic special effects. You should definitely add this to your queue if you’re looking to be creeped out but still want to enjoy a good story or if you’re a fan of old suspense films.

Neflix Page for The Orphange
This movie is also available on Watch Instantly.