2008 Woodie Awards
'The Orphanage' is hauntingly beautiful
Andy Bockelman
Issue date: 1/25/08 Section: Entertainment
Growing up in an institution is bad enough, but when paranormal events are occurring within those walls, it is only that much worse. The Spanish-language horror film "El Orfanato" ("The Orphanage") is just such an example.
When Laura (Belén Rueda) and Carlos (Fernando Cayo) move into the orphanage where Laura once lived, they do not expect it to be an easy transition for their adopted son Simón (Roger Príncep), who has enough problems being HIV-positive and without any real friends his own age. When Simón starts talking about a new group of friends, Laura assumes he has made up more imaginary playmates since there are no children living anywhere near their new home. With the arrival of an elderly social worker (Montserrat Carulla), eerie occurrences begin happening. Simón keeps bringing up information that he should not know about and objects in and around the house appear in unusual places. Laura believes that Simón is just acting out because of his loneliness, but when he suddenly goes missing, she and Carlos discover that the building they are living in has a startling history that may explain what has happened to their son.
Rueda is thoroughly convincing as Laura, who not only has to face every mother's nightmare, but also has to deal with many more frightening events to come. Young Príncep does especially well in his part, although as creepy as he can be at times, Carulla is much more fearsome as ghostly figure Benigna, whose very presence is enough to make your skin crawl. Also putting forth a hair-raising performance is Hollywood legacy Geraldine Chaplin (daughter of the Little Tramp himself) as Aurora, a psychic who Laura enlists in order to unravel the mystery of what has happened to Simón.
With a producer like Guillermo Del Toro (director of "Pan's Labyrinth") behind this, there is little doubt that it could be anything less than the highest quality in terms of horror. While many foreign language films come off as heavily pretentious, "The Orphanage" is almost like your typical American haunted house story with a transport to the Spanish coastline. The heightened sense of terror that the audience receives is equal to, if not greater than, the best kid-centered fright-fests such as "The Omen," "Poltergeist" and "The Sixth Sense." Yet, even with all these sinister elements, there is an amount of love contained within the story, making for a finely balanced film.
Supremely jolting, "The Orphanage" is guaranteed to make you leave the theatre shivering thanks to the hugely scary ambiance created by brilliant director Juan Antonio Bayona.
- Andy Bockelman is a senior theatre studies major, and The Mirror's movie columnist.
When Laura (Belén Rueda) and Carlos (Fernando Cayo) move into the orphanage where Laura once lived, they do not expect it to be an easy transition for their adopted son Simón (Roger Príncep), who has enough problems being HIV-positive and without any real friends his own age. When Simón starts talking about a new group of friends, Laura assumes he has made up more imaginary playmates since there are no children living anywhere near their new home. With the arrival of an elderly social worker (Montserrat Carulla), eerie occurrences begin happening. Simón keeps bringing up information that he should not know about and objects in and around the house appear in unusual places. Laura believes that Simón is just acting out because of his loneliness, but when he suddenly goes missing, she and Carlos discover that the building they are living in has a startling history that may explain what has happened to their son.
Rueda is thoroughly convincing as Laura, who not only has to face every mother's nightmare, but also has to deal with many more frightening events to come. Young Príncep does especially well in his part, although as creepy as he can be at times, Carulla is much more fearsome as ghostly figure Benigna, whose very presence is enough to make your skin crawl. Also putting forth a hair-raising performance is Hollywood legacy Geraldine Chaplin (daughter of the Little Tramp himself) as Aurora, a psychic who Laura enlists in order to unravel the mystery of what has happened to Simón.
With a producer like Guillermo Del Toro (director of "Pan's Labyrinth") behind this, there is little doubt that it could be anything less than the highest quality in terms of horror. While many foreign language films come off as heavily pretentious, "The Orphanage" is almost like your typical American haunted house story with a transport to the Spanish coastline. The heightened sense of terror that the audience receives is equal to, if not greater than, the best kid-centered fright-fests such as "The Omen," "Poltergeist" and "The Sixth Sense." Yet, even with all these sinister elements, there is an amount of love contained within the story, making for a finely balanced film.
Supremely jolting, "The Orphanage" is guaranteed to make you leave the theatre shivering thanks to the hugely scary ambiance created by brilliant director Juan Antonio Bayona.
- Andy Bockelman is a senior theatre studies major, and The Mirror's movie columnist.
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