Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Konterr Brilliant and touching

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Rog Pile The first time I saw this, frankly I was disappointed. I came to it fresh from viewing Japanese horrors of skinny, long-haired girls walking upside-down on ceilings, vengeful victims of abuse and slaughter. I was looking for more of the same. Of course, I didn't find it. The Orphanage is a quieter kind of horror. It has more in common with Jack Clayton's 1961 film, The Innocents, than most contemporary horror. Both films show a woman fighting to save a child from what she believes to be maleficent supernatural entities. Jack Clayton's film leaves us wondering if the monster was in the woman's own mind (and the film is none the worse for that); J A Bayona leaves us with no such ambiguity. And The Orphanage is a wonderful film.But when I first watched it, yes, I was disappointed. I did want the screaming horrors of contemporary cinema, and this quietly acted drama didn't scare me. Now, about a decade later, I was able to let myself be drawn in. The weird setting of house and lighthouse, the compelling story and completely convincing acting, all worked their spell, and I was seriously creeped-out as the film reached its final act. Along with The Innocents, The Babadook and (possibly) The Others, The Orphanage has now become one of my all time favourite films.

Woodyanders Laura (a fine and affecting performance by Belen Rueda) and her family movie into a mysterious seaside orphanage that Laura grew up in as a child. Said orphanage harbors a deep dark secret that threatens to destroy both Laura and everything she has ever loved. Director J.A. Bayona eschews graphic gore and cheap scares in favor of delicately crafting a quietly spooky atmosphere that gets under the viewer's skin in an understated, yet still unsettling way. Moreover, the absorbing story that's set up with utmost care and precision by Sergio G. Sanchez has a tragic element to it that in turn gives this film a considerable amount of depth and poignancy. Rueda's distraught, yet determined Laura makes for a strong and sympathetic protagonist whose need to make peace with her troubled past and desire to be reunited with her missing son Simon (well played with tremendous charm and vitality by Roger Princep) ensures that this movie packs a potent emotional punch. The ending manages to be both sad and uplifting in equal measure. Fernando Cayo lends sturdy support as Laura's concerned husband Carlos. Geraldine Chaplin likewise excels as helpful medium Aurora. Kudos are also in order for Oscar Faura's sumptuous widescreen cinematography and Fernando Velaz's spare shivery score. A very touching and haunting gem.

begob A wife returns with her husband and child to live at the old orphanage from which she was adopted, but the secrets of the past return to haunt her family ...A tragic tale that delivers not just on ghostly menace but on pathos and humanity too. A slow build up is punctuated with a few effective jump scares, but the story changes gear during an imaginative treasure hunt and comes to its climax with near perfection.The plot is a little underdeveloped, leaving the odd hole, and some of the dialogue is misjudged - especially in a Q&A scene at about 40 mins - but all that is forgiven as the director brings it home on a wave of emotion.The performances are good, and the lead actress is outstanding: not just fascinating in close-up but a treat for the eyes as well.Music was sometimes too playful - in a horror that can be a sign of the director losing his nerve, but it didn't spoil the tone. Photography was good, with beautiful locations and a stylish circling pan of the actress in a crucial scene towards the end.Overall: a little shaky, but a pleasure for even seasoned horrorists.

jtncsmistad-82689 From thequickflickcritic.blogspot.com/ "The Orphanage" is not your run-of-the-mill horror movie. In fact, it's not really a horror flick at all. Not in traditional terms at any rate. And most certainly not in the common contemporary sense, either.Spanish Director J.A. Bayona crafts a healthy share of scares and suspense for sure, but not at the expense of presenting a compelling chronicle skillfully infused with drama and genuine human emotion. At it's heart a narrative of a mother's love for her child and the ferocious and limitless power embodied in such, Bayona's film also gives us a ghost story, summoning as it does so spirits both conjured and broken.Belén Rueda is a relentless dynamo of raw strength and dogged determination as a parent who refuses to believe that her lost child has lost his life. Her extraordinary performance is intensely demanding and grueling, one rarely witnessed from any actress regardless of the role. And the strikingly breathtaking cinematography by Óscar Faura consistently punctuates the overall impact of most every scene.The recommendation is to go in to "The Orphanage" anticipating something far out of the ordinary. Or at the very least without the expectation that it will fall in line with what you've come to expect.For more of my Movie Reviews categorized by Genre please visit: thequickflickcritic.blogspot.com/