The Orphanage

Well this week I managed to watch many Films due to the flu one I happened to stumble across was The Orphanage (2007) Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona
Produced by Guillermo del Toro
This is a Spanish film starring Belen Rueda as Laura and Fernando Cayo as Carlos neither of these actors I have come across before.

Laura returns to an Orphanage she grew up in with her husband Carlos and adopted son Simon who is HIV positive. At the start there are some flashbacks of Laura in Orphanage playing a game. The Orphanage is being renovated into their home and also a retreat for special needs children.Simon has imaginary friend and Laura thinks having some real children will help him to get rid of the imaginary ones. Out playing on the beach Simon finds a new imaginary friend whom he brings home.A very sinister social worker also turns up at the house.Simon goes missing after he fights with Laura she cannot move on believing he is still alive. A very creepy boy in a sack bag mask haunts Laura which is nearly comical at times.

Laura begins to search for her son finding it hard to to believe what is in her imagination and what is real.A lot of the crawling camera work is similar to Del Toros Pans Labyrinth although unfortunately this film is not a patch on Pan's Labyrinth. As Laura unravels deep secrets in the house she regresses back into childhood pushing her husband further and further away.When a medium comes to the house more creepy and seat gripping moments occur but this is not long lived as the film drags out and I found myself nearly screaming at the TV to get to the point. Like Laura I found my my mind was beginning to play tricks on me. In 2008 this film was nominated for a foreign language Oscar.

Although the storey line was nothing new to all the other horrors it had the occasional scary moment thanks to the actors.The only slight letdown is a false ending, which proves to be much more in keeping with the rest of the action’s tension and tone than the one that actually wraps up the film. Where Laura finds out that she herself has killed her son by locking him accidentally in the basement ( explaining the banging noises).She then commits suicide placing here with her son again and all the other children that had died in the Orphanage. All in all if you like foreign films and have the patience to endure all the subtle spookiness I'd recommend it.
Til Next time Dawn :)