Movie Information
Overall Rank: 1274
Average Rating: 2.9/4
# of Ratings: 253
Theatrical Release Date: 12/28/2007
Blu-ray/DVD Release Date: 04/22/2008
Language: Spanish
Genre: Horror, Mystery
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Juan Antonio Bayona
Actors: Fernando Cayo, Belén Rueda, Roger Príncep, Andrés Gertrúdix, Mabel Rivera, Edgar Vivar
Plot: An orphan returns to her former orphanage with her new family to remodel and re-open the grounds. When she and her son venture to the beach he leaves a trail of sea-shells for one of his imaginary friends to follow. What exactly follows them back though? -- GOD_NOtLIKELY
Quick Movie Reviews
Rating of
1.5/4
SIngli6 - wrote on 11/08/2011
This is quite possibly one of the most derivative, uninspiring, cliched, and otherwise dull excuses for a horror film that I have ever seen in my entire life. The perdurable misery of this Gothic nonsense is slightly ameliorated by the admittedly clever twist, but for the rest of the film the conventionality of proceedings is more likely to elicit a feeling of suicidal boredom than plenary fear.
Rating of
3/4
dukeakasmudge - wrote on 09/28/2011
I didnt really expect to like this movie cauz I hated The Devils Backbone but I liked this 1
Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
2.5/4
"The Orphanage" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 04/16/2012
The adopted mother of a young child returns to her childhood orphanage, where he tells her of his "new friends". When he goes missing, she becomes convinced that he was abducted by the spirits of dead children. This Spanish "horror" film is really more of a Gothic fantasy, as there is little in the way of frights or gore which is probably why Guillermo Del Toro put his name to it and the resulting hype brought it to the attention of the world media. The fact is, despite sharing themes with The Devil's Backbone, The Orphanage has far more in common with The Others with a dash of Poltergeist thrown in. It lacks the originality and invention of Del Toro's work and as a result feels much more generic. Belen Rueda puts in a strong performance as the grieving mother, it is nice to look at and …
Rating of
3.5/4
How Horror Needs To Be Done
lpd381 - wrote on 09/16/2011
This movie was absolutely fantastic. The acting was top notch, the set ups for the scary parts was almost torture in how slow and meticulous it set everything up. It even had a couple jump scares that actually worked as well. The ending was also heart wrenching and overall satisfying. The problems I hear people having are that it's to slow and that it turns into a drama at the end rather then a horror movie. To me these complaints are just from people who probably like the slasher kill them all movies as opposed to horror movies that take their time and let you try to figure out what's happening and why. The ending again is very emotional and is very dramatic. If you like the slower paced movies then this is definitely worth checking out if you haven't you will not be disappointed.
Rating of
3.5/4
'Believe and you will see...'
danand82 - wrote on 09/07/2008
The Orphanage is not a horror film and it is not directed by Guillermo del Toro.
These two common misconceptions have followed the film around since it's release. The former can perhaps be dismissed as semantics but the latter bears some semblance to the belief several years ago that Quentin Tarantino had directed Hero (2002). The major difference is that del Toro is a genuinely talented director and Tarantino is an over-rated adolescent. But that's another rant for another day.
The Orphanage was actually directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, in his feature film debut, though it could easily be mistaken for del Toro's work. Best known for his comic book movies Blade II (2002) and Hellboy (2004), The Orphanage is more tonally similar to some of his Spanish language work, particularly The …
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