The Orphanage
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Movie Reviews of The Orphanage
Movie Review: The Orphanage
Summary: 5 Stars
I have not watched this copy as of yet however I did receive it in a timely fashion.Movie Review: The Orphange
Summary: 1 Stars
There should be a warning on the front of the DVD case that this movie is only available in Spanish... how can anyone enjoy a horror movie that they have to read through everything, I shut the movie off half way through and returned it to the store for a refund.Movie Review: A Subtlety-Crafted, Beautifully Atmospheric Ghost Story
Summary: 5 Stars
Before I start I'd like to clear up a wildly popular misconception about this flick.
It was not directed by "Pans Labyrinth" director Guillermo Del Toro.
He only produced this.
That being said.....
This was the best ghost flick I've seen since "The Sixth Sense"
(yes better than "The Others" & "The Ring" too)
and easily one of the most atmospheric to date.
Every facet of this film is beautifully crafted,
Attention is painfully given to each detail
& every angle is expertly covered.
There isn't a single scene that is irrelevant,
regardless of how subtle some might seem.
The most seemingly insignficant of which,
are easily the MOST relevant.
The plot, the characters, the setting, the atmosphere;
everything was Genius, pure genius!!
I damn-near cried at the conclusion,
which in my opinion could have been viewed as either happy, or sad, or both.
All around, it's an excellent flick!!
A worthy addition to any cinephiles collection.
I personally couldnt recommend it enough!
especially for those who loved:
"Tale of Two Sisters",
"Skeleton Key",
"Devils Backbone", or
"Pans Labyrinth"
MORAL OF THE STORY:
That which was lost, can always be found, because
That which was loved, can never be forgotten.
Movie Review: Wonderful movie, good service.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my most favorite movies since "The Devil's Backbone". A lovely story and quite scary. It's definitely a keeper. Movie Review: Not Really A Horror Film, Per Se...
Summary: 3 Stars
THE ORPHANAGE is a tough film to review, as it had some really good points but some really low ones, too.
The highest point comes from Guillermo del Toro's association with it. For those unaware, del Toro was the genius behind such films as Hellboy, the new Hellboy II and the exquisite Pan's Labyrinth. Visually wondrous and stark, del Toro has a discerning eye for what does and does not work, and one can easily see his input (as a producer this time) within The Orphange. Although he had a hands-off approach for this film, you can see it is distinctly del Toro in nature, with heavy shadows, complex film shots, and a movie that lets the images speak rather than a visceral score (which was minimal).
Spanish stage-star-turned-film-actress Bel?n Rueda pulls in a fantastic performance as a returning woman to the orphanage she once inhabited as a child, but this time as owner of the failing building. Her pouty eyes, ruffled hair, and slumped shoulders gave her just the right mixture of attractiveness and cookyness that such a role demanded. When Laura's (Bel?n Rueda) adopted son Sim?n (Roger Pr?ncep) goes missing from a party at the house/orphanage, Laura obviously does everything to try and locate him. Her husband Carlos (Fernando Cayo) also tries for many months but soon loses faith in ever finding the boy alive. He's probably right, too, since the boy was sick and needed daily medications. But Laura refuses to give up. She "feels" something in the house, just as Sim?n had before he disappeared. Sim?n kept referring to invisible friends who wanted him to stay and play with them. Laura and Carlos, of course, just assumed the boy to have an active imagination.
But Laura begins awakening to memories of her time at the orphanage, and with this comes a flood of troubled remembrances. When a group of paranormal researchers are called in to see if they can find out what happened to Sim?n, Laura's suspicions are aroused further, but cause a rift to grow between she and her husband. Carlos soon leaves but Laura stays, and she starts "playing the game" that these memories tell her to (including a game of hide and seek that results in some of the film's scarier moments, "1 ...2 ...3...Knock on the wall.")
Although the performances and filming were done with great care, the script itself was not. Deus ex machina rules the ending (just think of the movie The Others and you'll be real close). That this film has horror elements is undeniable, but genre-wise it doesn't quite fit. Although I don't think shoe-horning a film into a specific genre is a good thing, it does give the viewer a sense of what to expect and how the story will unfold. Not so here. The ending makes it a bit too sweet. Okay, so that might not be fair if you compare Pan's Labyrinth's ending and this one (true, they are similar). But Pan's Labyrinth had a much more cohesive story that came at you from a child's perspective. With The Orphanage, it is through Laura's eyes that we see this world, and she's a grown up with grown up ideals. Plus the brutality of Pan's Labyrinth was horrifically pulled off by the evil protagonist, while in The Orphange, it really had none other than its own circumstances.
But if you're in the mood for something visually appealing, this one will stimulate that portion of your brain. Just don't expect a smashing success ...or a horror film.