El Orfanato (The Orphanage) – DVD Review

I’ve been a fan of Guillermo Del Toro for a long time and his films are usually well worth the time. In this case, the Pan’s Labyrinth director is a producer for director Juan Antonio Bayona’s gothic horror about an old orphanage that is being reborn under the care of an ex-resident. As a child, orphaned Laura lived in the big old house by the Spanish seaside and has fond memories of her time there. She was adopted and left the home. Now in her mid-30s, Laura returns to the dilapidated institution with her husband, Carlos, and their seven-year-old son, Simon, to reopen the orphanage for just a handful of special needs children.

But, naturally, there is something weird going on in the beautiful old house. Simon’s behavior begins to grow increasingly strange and Laura and Carlos start to think the boy is getting carried away with his imaginary friends. On the opening day of the new orphanage, Simon’s bizarre behavior is written off as a bid for attention until truly strange events occur and Simon disappears. The search for Simon leads Laura deep into her memories of the orphanage and she begins to uncover troubling things that occurred after her own adoption.

This is classy and atmospheric film. It’s true gothic horror, with the tension and pace masterfully managed throughout. The acting is top notch, with all the characters utterly convincing. The film addresses the connections between the living and the dead in interesting ways. There’s nothing especially original in the ideas here, but the delivery and way the characters interact with the strange events is excellent.

The real power of this film is the subtlety and understated exploration of the horror as it goes for true emotional engagement. There are occasional old school shocks and a few typical tension-building filmic techniques employed, but they’re handled with as much subtlety as the plot. The cinematography is very good throughout, with the camera making great use of the locations and the architecture of the orphanage.

All in all this is a genuinely creepy and visceral horror film, cleverly written, beautiful shot and well acted. Highly recommended.

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This entry was posted in DVD Reviews, Film Reviews and tagged , , by Alan Baxter. Bookmark the permalink.

About Alan Baxter

Alan Baxter is a British-Australian author who writes dark fantasy, horror and sci-fi, rides a motorcycle and loves his dog. He also teaches Kung Fu. He is the author of the dark urban fantasy trilogy, Bound, Obsidian and Abduction (The Alex Caine Series) published by HarperVoyager Australia, and the dark urban fantasy duology, RealmShift and MageSign (The Balance 1 and 2) from Gryphonwood Press. He co-authored the short horror novel, Dark Rite, with David Wood. Alan also writes short fiction with more than 50 stories published in a variety of journals and anthologies in Australia, the US, the UK and France. His short fiction has appeared in Fantasy & Science Fiction (forthcoming), Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Daily Science Fiction, Postscripts, and Midnight Echo, among many others, and more than twenty anthologies, including the Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror (2010 and 2012). Alan also writes narrative arcs and dialogue for videogames and wrote the popular writer’s resource, Write The Fight Right, a short ebook about writing convincing fight scenes. He has twice been a finalist in the Ditmar Awards.

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