Your Pop Culture Beast was lucky enough to attend our first theatrical press screening last night. The film was the upcoming Picturehouse release "The Orphanage."
The Orphanage (El Orfanato)
Directed by: Juan Antonio Bayona
Written by: Sergio G. Sanchez
Starring: Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Geraldine Chaplin, Montserrat Carulla, Mabel Rivera, Andrés Gertrúdix and Roger Príncep
Considering this movie is the Spanish submission for Best Foreign Language film for next years Academy Awards, it has a lot to live up to. Hearing that prior to seeing the movie may have given me lofty expectations. If it's an Oscar submission surely it must be great.
Well, it is.
An expertly crafted film from first time feature director Juan Antonio Bayona, The Orphanage delivers nail-biting chills and heart breaking drama all tied neatly into one nearly perfect package.
When the credits began and the text "Guillermo del Toro Presents" preceded the title, I felt a pang of worry. Can you blame me for flashing to all the movies that were "Wes Craven Presents"? Are any of them good?
The story revolves around a family moving into a stately ocean side manor that used to house the orphanage that the wife and mother, Laura, grew up in. They intend to refurbish the home and open a home for ill children.
It is hard to really go into detail about the story as there are so many intricate plot points that I don't want to spoil. Essentially, Laura's son Simon (allow me to pause and note that this kid looks exactly like Fred Savage did when he was a kid. It's eerie.) has imaginary friends who begin playing games with them and eventually lead to his disappearance. Laura is then forced to solve not only the mysteries of her childhood home, but to find her own son in the process.
The entire cast is amazing. Delivering perfect performances and giving us completely believable characters we really care about. There is no sense really breaking down each actors performance because they all did brilliantly. I will say that Belen Rueda (Laura) was exceptional. She took every scene and ran with it.
This movie does has the distinct honor of having one of the single creepiest ghosts in movie history which you can have a glimpse at above and below this review. When you see it in action your skin will crawl off your body.
My only complaint was the very last scenes in the movie. It had a sort of tacked on feeling. Kind of like when they take foreign movies and change the endings to make American audiences understand them better. Recent example of this is The Descent.
That little complaint does nothing to harm the rest of the movie. It's just an extra explanation that any intelligent audience doesn't need.
The movie comes out in America with a limited release on December 28. If you enjoy movies like Poltergeist or The Others, you will most certainly enjoy this movie.
It is one of the best horror/mystery/thrillers/dramas of the year.
Have a peak at the American Teaser Trailer below:
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