Blurb: "Visionary Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) and acclaimed director J.A. Bayona present The Orphanage, a 'positively terrifying' (John Anderson, Newsday) new vision of the classic ghost story. Returning to her childhood home--a mysterious, seaside orphanage--Laura and her family unknowingly unleash a long-forgotten, evil spirit. Now, thrust into a chilling nightmare that involves the disappearance of her young son, Laura must confront the memories of her past before the ghosts of the orphanage destroy her... and everyone she has ever loved." (newline.com/properties/orphanagethe.html)
Notables: Spain's official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008) (imdb.com)
My thoughts: 5/5 This movie blew me away. You will scream, and you will love it. The main character, Laura (Belen Rueda) grabs your attention and your heart, and doesn't let go. This film is as much mystery as it is horror, and believe me you won't be able to solve this one! If you like old fashioned ghost stories, compelling characters, and edge-of-your-seat heart-pounding breath-stopping suspense... don't pass this one up. Even if you scare easy, and horror is hard for you to swallow, watch this one through the end! You won't be disappointed. It's available at every Blockbuster, and probably a few other rental places in town. Or, if you're like me and have to own these pieces of amazing film, used copies are available at Entertainmart for between $10-$13. The primary language is Spanish, but I do believe it is available dubbed in English on the DVD (my recommendation is, always, to watch it with subtitles ^_^).
For some more reviews, if you don't want to take my word for it, go here: imdb.com or rottentomatos.com (simply type The Orphanage into the search bar).
I loved this movie, but then again, I tend to like most of del Toro's works.
ReplyDeleteI love psychological thrillers, but I can't handle torture scenes, gore, or major creep-out moments (i.e., the hand coming out of the girl's hair in the shower in "The Grudge"). Do you think I'd still be okay to see this one? It sounds really good!
ReplyDeleteThis movie sounds good, and I've heard from quite a few people that it's really good. I'm a huge scary movie buff, so I'll have to go pick it up!
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