The Orphanage - Will's review.

A woman buys the, now disused, orphanage which was her childhood home, and moves her family into it, planning to turn it into a small care home for children with special needs. Her son, Simon, a young boy with an history of imaginary friends, claims to have made a group of new friends in the house, including his new best friend, Tomas.

During an argument with his mother, Simon goes missing, and she starts to see his 'friends'...

I don't want to give too much away about this one, as there are multiple little twists and turns, and a fair amount of misleads; I was sure I had everything pegged by the time Simon went missing, and for a long time it looked like my theory was right. In the final act the rug was yanked from under me, and the truth about Simon's disappearance is borderline genius!

As with Pan's Labyrinth, Del Toro directs a great looking movie, and weaves a compelling story in which reality and imagination are so entwined that, even by the time the credits roll, it is often difficult to tell what is 'real'. 

Save one brief scene, in the aftermath of one of my favorite types of scares (I'm not giving it away, but it's used in Final Destination and Bride of Chucky) there's little or no gore in this film, opting instead for a spooky atmosphere - if you enjoy traditional ghost stories, this is one for you!

I was slightly concerned by the ending which (to avoid spoilers) was supposed to end on a particular mood, but really wasn't that thing when you think about it; indeed this is indicative of the films only problem; if you think about it too much after you've watched it, 'fridge logic' will kick in, and you'll realise that parts of it don't make sense. 

That said, this gripe seems minor when held up against the rest of this compelling, beautiful, spooky, movie. 

The Orphanage - Lisa's Review

Tonight was my second viewing of The Orphanage.  After viewing the awesome Pans Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro, I was keen to catch up on anything else he was responsible for.  As it happens, The Orphanage is one of those movies.

Unusually for me, I don't want to give too much away about this movie, as it's one that I imagine not a lot of people have watched, so I don't want to ruin the movie for you.  I will say that the main thing I need to get across in this review is that if you haven't seen this movie, get your hands on a copy and watch it!

To give you an idea of the storyline here, we follow a young couple, Laura and Carlos and their adoptive son Simón.  Laura herself was an orphan and she feels she wants to go on to adopt herself.  The family move back to the orphanage Laura lived in as a child.  They want to convert it into a building that can be utilised by disabled children.  However when they move in, strange things start to happen.  Simón develops what his mum thinks are imaginary friends, but are they?

One piece of information I will divulge, is that Simón does not know he is adopted, but he finds out during the course of the movie.   He is extremely upset about it and argues with his adoptive mum Laura.  The relationship is not as it was and it is during this period of upset that Simón goes missing.  The movie follows Laura and Carlos as they try to figure out what has happened to Simón.

They call in help from the police, psychologists, even mediums in a search to find Simón.  During the hunt, they uncover something that has remained hidden for many years.   A whole other history of Lauras childhood orphanage is revealed.  Events that took place after she was adopted come to light.  Information that threatens to drive a wedge between her and her husband.  How far will Laura go in the search for Simón?

My review probably sounds a lot scanter than normal, but it is for the best if you have yet to watch the movie.  Any more information would spoil the experience.  I have to mention one scene where the special effects are absolutely jaw dropping!  This isn't the kind of movie that has blood and guts, which is maybe why this one scene was so shocking, but look out for it.  Better effects I doubt you'll ever see!

This movie gets a big thumbs up and Recommended from me.  In fact pretty much anything by Gullermo Del Toro is worth a watch.   The movie is spanish and has subtitles, but please don't let this put you off.  Some of the best movies out there are foreign films.  Take the plunge with 'The Orphanage' if you're a subtitle virgin and open yourself up to a whole other plethora of movies!

Week 145 - The Orphanage (2007)

Reviews / Author Comments due: 02/03/2014
Position on TimeOut list: 76
More Info: Wikipedia, IMDB
DVD: Link

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