El Orfanato (The Orphanage) (2007)
Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 166
Fresh: 142 | Rotten: 24
When it seems like every horror movie nowadays is a remake or a grisly exercise in sadism, The Orphanage is a breath of fresh air for critics and audiences alike, seamlessly blending in a poignant tale of loss with the scares and blood.
Average Rating: 7.6/10
Critic Reviews: 37
Fresh: 33 | Rotten: 4
When it seems like every horror movie nowadays is a remake or a grisly exercise in sadism, The Orphanage is a breath of fresh air for critics and audiences alike, seamlessly blending in a poignant tale of loss with the scares and blood.
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Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 62,543
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Movie Info
Pan's Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro produces director Juan Antonio Bayona's gothic frightener about a long-abandoned orphanage with a particularly troubling past. As a child, young orphan Laura spent her formative years being cared for by the staff of a large orphanage located by the Spanish seaside. Those were some of the happiest years of Laura's life, and now, 30 years later, the former charge returns to the dilapidated institution with her husband, Carlos, and their seven-year-old
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Cast
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Geraldine Chaplin
Aurora -
Belén Rueda
Laura -
Fernando Cayo
Carlos -
Roger Príncep
Simón, Simón, Sim? -
Mabel Rivera
Pilar -
Montserrat Carulla
Benigna -
Andres Gertrudix
Enrique -
Edgar Vivar
Balaban -
Oscar Casas
Tomás, Tomás, Tom? -
Mireia Renau
Laura Girl -
Georgina Avellaneda
Rita -
Carla Gordillo
MartÃn, Martín, Mart? -
Alejandro Camps
Victor -
Carmen Lopez
Alicia -
Oscar Lara
Guillermo -
Enric Arquimbau
Group Therapist -
Blanca Martínez
Woman in Group Therapy -
Carol Suárez
Young Benigna -
Isabel Friera
Antonia Nurse -
Fernando Marriot
Doctor -
Jordi Cardus
Blind Kid -
Pedro Morales
Father 2
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El Orfanato (The Orphanage) Trailer & Photos
All Critics (166) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (150) | Rotten (25) | DVD (20)
At a time when American horror seems transfixed by graphic sadism, the acclaimed Spanish chiller El Orfanato harks back to an older tradition of psychological scares and things that go bump in the night.
Top CriticThe picture is a creepily effective exercise in gothic technique.
[Director Bayona] has a fine career ahead of him.
The year's best horror picture is also one of the simplest.
Aas, there's no Ahhhh! moment at the end to justify the mounting tension.
Bayona never spoonfeeds the audience, giving us lots of latitude to exercise our imaginations and believe what we choose as the film builds to its devastating climax.
The horror genre is not often known for its subtlety, but The Orphanage proves that sometimes it's more satisfying to squirm in your seat than it is to jump out of it.
This Guillermo del Toro-produced Spanish spook-'em-up re-opens the door to the chilly, bracing air of the old-school ghost story.
As director Juan Antonio Bayona proves with his astonishing feature debut, you don't need a rusty scalpel to reveal the inner workings of the human heart.
Bayona is a skilled technician, but seek elsewhere if you're hoping for the transporting originality of last year's Pan's Labyrinth.
This is a movie whose power and emotional pitch lie in the understated: the discreet performances, the lack of special effects, the laconic script.
Decent old-school ghost story, Spanish-style.
Spanish horror films have a rich, still underappreciated tradition, but The Orphanage could have been made by any anonymous Hollywood hack
However, the creative trust hasn’t forgotten those who love their art served up rich in metaphor and message.
[A] pungent and scary film.
Superbly directed, genuinely creepy Spanish chiller with a strong script and a terrific central performance from Belen Rueda.
The Orphanage is simply content with getting through the entire story without tripping over its own flaws, and though it's definitely better than most supernatural thrillers, it doesn't belong in the same camp as del Toro or any of his films.
The Orphanage is the first horror movie I've seen in a while that's scary enough to send people out of the theater.
You wouldn't think that a Spanish horror flick as high art, but in the case of The Orphanage, you'd be wrong.
Audience Reviews for El Orfanato (The Orphanage)
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Laura: One, two, three, knock on the wall.
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- Aurora: Seeing is not believing, it's the other way round. Believe,and you will see.
Discussion Forum
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Latest News on El Orfanato (The Orphanage)
January 4, 2010:
Mark Pellington Moves into New Line's Orphanage RemakeMark Pellington, director of "The Mothman Prophecies," has been hired to helm Warner Bros.'...
August 5, 2009:
Fessenden Signs on for Orphanage RemakeNew Line's remake of "The Orphanage" has got itself a director: Larry Fessenden, who has written the...
May 15, 2009:
Orphanage Duo Reunites for "Powerful Story"Juan Antonio Bayona and Sergio Sanchez, the director and screenwriter of "The Orphanage," are...
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Foreign Titles
- Das Waisenhaus (DE)
- The Orphanage (El Orfanato) (UK)
