The Orphanage

Name: The Orphanage
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Horror
Released: December 28, 2007
Duration: 105 min
Rating: 74
Cast: Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep

2007

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 211 Ratings

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7.6

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7.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 211 Ratings

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The Orphanage

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Movie Details & Credits

Picturehouse Entertainment | Release Date: December 28, 2007 | R

Starring: Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep

Summary: Laura returns to the stately manor house that holds such a special place in her heart. The orphanage was abandoned years ago; Laura and her husband, Carlos, plan to reopen it as a center for sick and disabled children. It will be a place where boys and girls--including the couple's beloved 7-year-old Simón--can play freely in the open air,Laura returns to the stately manor house that holds such a special place in her heart. The orphanage was abandoned years ago; Laura and her husband, Carlos, plan to reopen it as a center for sick and disabled children. It will be a place where boys and girls--including the couple's beloved 7-year-old Simón--can play freely in the open air, enjoying the sunshine and the nearby beach. In its years of solitude, however, the orphanage has acquired a haunted, unhappy air. To get used to his creepy surroundings, Simón starts to have relationships with imaginary friends. Simón's circle of unseen friends quickly expands to include five more boys and girls, who tell cryptic stories and engage him in elaborate games that carry a suggestion of the sinister. Troubled, Laura allows herself to get sucked into her son's eerie world, which seems to resonate with a far-away and disturbing echo of her own childhood experiences. (Picturehouse)… Expand

Director: Juan Antonio Bayona

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Horror

Rating: R

Runtime: 105 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Peter Rainer

Delivers more goose bumps than anything Hollywood has served up in years – which I hope does not mean that Bayona, a first-time feature director and music video whiz, will be enlisted to direct "Saw V." Read full review

Desson Thomson

Lures us in with extraordinary subtlety. Keeping sound effects and incidental music to a relative minimum, it builds its suspense almost subliminally. So when something scary or shocking does occur -- deprived of those Hollywood-style cues -- we are truly startled. Read full review

Noel Murray

While some of the trappings and even some of the plot elements could easily be called unoriginal, Bayona and screenwriter Sergio G. Sánchez arrange them in a fresh way, crafting an emotionally resonant, nerve-jangling experience. Read full review

Ty Burr

The Orphanage gets by on mood and a mournfulness that's not easily soothed. Sadness and loss, it says, are the threads connecting the spirit world and our own, and women, who bring life into the world, understand that far better than men ever will. Read full review

James Berardinelli

For those who enjoy ghost stories and are willing to be patient with a movie that gradually unveils its secrets rather than uncovering them all in an orgy of violence and terror, The Orphanage fills a need. The spell it casts early does not evaporate until the epilogue is finished. Read full review

Carina Chocano

An unexpectedly poignant ghost story. Read full review

Marc Savlov

Ultimately the composition comes off as both overplayed and underdone. Read full review

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User Reviews

TomL.

Mar 21, 2008

One of the most intense, horrifying movies I've watched for a long time. It's simple and elegant in the way that it's shot, yet immerses you into an unforgiving world where anything is possible. This movie is a true horror movie which guarantees goosebumps. Definately One of the most intense, horrifying movies I've watched for a long time. It's simple and elegant in the way that it's shot, yet immerses you into an unforgiving world where anything is possible. This movie is a true horror movie which guarantees goosebumps. Definately recommended and I will be buying this on DVD. Superb!… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful

dannyamanda787

Jan 17, 2021

Great movie. Pretty original and had me guessing until the end. I would watch it over and over again.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

RegOz

Feb 9, 2012

This movie was brilliant! I can't think in anything wrong about it. Perhaps there are some small details that needed to be clarified -if they were not left like that deliberately-, but, in movies, as it is in life, there is always room for improvement. The performances were great, and theThis movie was brilliant! I can't think in anything wrong about it. Perhaps there are some small details that needed to be clarified -if they were not left like that deliberately-, but, in movies, as it is in life, there is always room for improvement. The performances were great, and the characters were perfectly elaborates, so the audience empathize with them. I actually felt pretty close to Laura and Simon, and also to the 'ghost' children and their story. Moreover, this movie manages to continuously surprise us. There is always suspense, which makes it thrilling. In fact, at time, I had goosebumps; that, even though I am not a person who gets easily scared. Further, I love the emotional component of the film, because it was not a movie that dealt merely with death, life, and the super natural world, but it was a movie that confronted us about how each of us deals with his/her humanity. The Orphanage questions our coping mechanisms to face, pain, loss, reality, the 'unknown', and more. I think that those people who see is a 'dumb' 'silly' 'pointless' or 'boring' movie are probably more into gore or have a very narrow perspective about what is horror. I have read some of the reasons why some put this movie just a '1 or 2', and frankly, in most of the cases, their criticism shows an absolutely basic analytical thought. So, if you like intellectual stimulation, this is the movie for you! It is magnificently done. Moreover, the photography is breathtaking, so is the landscape. I loved the ending I found it very powerful...and open to your imagination. I did have tears, and I am not an overly emotional person so that means something to me. I think I can easily watch this movie twice the same day, not just because of its beauty, but also to play myself a bit with the clues...I may be able to discover more about it.!..An end note: I did like this movie more than Pan's Laberynth. I find The Orphanage is much better. Pan's Labyrinth was beautiful -what I enjoyed the most was the art direction- but the whole story didn't really impressed me much. The Orphanage is Del Toro's masterpiece!… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

BrianW.

May 23, 2008

Was so well done, I forgot that this was in Spanish with English subtitles. Guillermo Del Toro is a genius. I investigate the paranormal and it takes a lot to scare me, which very few horror movies have ever done. This one made me actually get up out of my chair on more than one occasion. Was so well done, I forgot that this was in Spanish with English subtitles. Guillermo Del Toro is a genius. I investigate the paranormal and it takes a lot to scare me, which very few horror movies have ever done. This one made me actually get up out of my chair on more than one occasion. Nice to see a plot that hasn't been overuse in previous movies and the creepy kids factor was very well played. Acting was very good in this film, and sold the plot amazingly.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful

axelkoch

Oct 31, 2012

Much more than the usual jump-scare horror movies! 'The Orphanage' is very burdensome in a way I've never seen before with a horror/thriller movie. Its story and the closure of it are fantastic, the screenplay is one of the utterly best in this genre. The acting really got me, the way theMuch more than the usual jump-scare horror movies! 'The Orphanage' is very burdensome in a way I've never seen before with a horror/thriller movie. Its story and the closure of it are fantastic, the screenplay is one of the utterly best in this genre. The acting really got me, the way the little kid plays is fantastic! It's not that mysterious, weird manner like in movies as 'The Omen' - it's just a normal kid with ominous things happening around him. The medium doesn't feel unrealistic like in ANY other horror film and Belén Rueda, the main actress, doesn't ever get hysterious. This movie truly is a renovation in the mystery genre. Albeit the viewer doesn't catch sight of the really scary scenes in this movie, the whole aura of the film is creepy and your heart beats twice as fast usual while watching it. I wasn't completely pleased with the medium scene or the resolution, but nevertheless 'The Orphanage' is one of the best scary movies I've ever seen and by the way also great in other aspcets like acting, screenplay, cinematography or the disquieting score. Go and watch this movie!… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Mr.PotatoR.

Mar 11, 2008

@Jason P. You have obviously not understood anything about this movie![***SPOILER***]The mother kills herself out of guilt. She was responsible for the boys death (think about that).As I understood the boy that pushes the mother and 'smashes' her fingers is not a ghost but her son @Jason P. You have obviously not understood anything about this movie![***SPOILER***]The mother kills herself out of guilt. She was responsible for the boys death (think about that).As I understood the boy that pushes the mother and 'smashes' her fingers is not a ghost but her son wearing the mask (when she finds him dead he is still wearing it).The old woman was alarmed when she realized that people have moved back into the orphanage and acted without thinking - you are right this is as much unreasonable as it is realistic: just imagine that you have killed someone and hidden his corpse on the basement of an abandoned house, and at some point you are told that someone has moved in. Plus she… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful

JasonP.

Jan 21, 2008

What?! I can't believe I had to sit through 90 minutes of the most boring and pointless sequence of events just to get an "OK" ending. ***SPOILER*** A movie where a mother kills her self over an orphan child and doesn't care one bit about leaving her husband alone and miserable... What?! I can't believe I had to sit through 90 minutes of the most boring and pointless sequence of events just to get an "OK" ending. ***SPOILER*** A movie where a mother kills her self over an orphan child and doesn't care one bit about leaving her husband alone and miserable... is just dumb! Oh, and explain to me why Tomas is an evil ghost who smashes the mothers fingers with the door, just to come out all loving and good at the end. What about that old woman who killed the orphans... she shows up out of nowhere in the tool shed (or what ever that room in the front yard is called) to do what? To check if the dead orphans she buried are still dead? And that woman showing up out of nowhere again in front of their car months later just to get hit by a bus... Stupid! I don't understand how anyone can like this film... ***End Spoiler*** I'm soo sick of foreign films getting good reviews from critics, just because it's in another language. If this was made in the U.S. in English, everyone would be trashing this film.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful

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69	#69 Best Movie of 2007
66	#66 Most Discussed Movie of 2007