A woman, her husband and their small child move into the mansion that had served as the orphanage where she grew up, and they now encounter serious trouble that may or may not be supernatural in origin.

I saw this movie twice, about 10 years ago when it first came out. I always wonder under these circumstances if I will find the movie as good as I did when I first saw it. The better Hitchcock movies, for example, are awesome the first time you see them, because you’re at the complete mercy of the Master of Suspense; but after that, most of them lose their power because they’re so dependent on plot points that you’ll remember. Good horror movies, on the other hand, tend not to suffer as much from multiple viewings, because they often play on your expectation of what’s going to happen. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve never seen the movie before or you’ve seen it five times; you know that once the protagonist starts going down the rickety stairs of that dark, dank basement, things are going to go very baaaaaaad.

“The Orphanage” qualifies as a horror movie because of its creepy atmosphere, its dealings with the possibly supernatural, and its many dark corners and crevices. But it also qualifies completely as a drama: the story of a couple and their sick, adopted child struggling to cope with the difficult elements of their lives. And it succeeds as both horror and drama, delivering some very creepy moments plus a story that immerses us from the very beginning with all kinds of emotions.

This movie came out at a similar time as “Pan’s Labyrinth.” Both films have superficial similarities, taking place in Spain, dealing with children, produced by famed moviemaker Guillermo del Toro (who directed “Pan’s Labyrinth” but not “The Orphanage”). But the two are actually quite different, with “Pan’s Labyrinth” being more of a dark fantasy that’s somewhat broad in scope, while “The Orphanage” is more of an intimate drama intermixed with haunted house elements.

“The Orphanage” is a great movie in its own right, delivering everything we want from a modern creepfest–an authentically eerie atmosphere, a great story, well-developed scares. This isn’t a shockfest or a terrifying roller-coaster ride, but it presents its own emotional roller-coaster that’s rare to find in movies, especially horror movies. And although it’s not the same kind of impact the third time around that I’ve seen it, it’s still packs quite a punch.

Not for Kids

Spanish with English subtitles

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