This was very average. It sort of reminded me of The Others, but worse.
I think they tried to make this into something that was smarter and more tasteful than your average haunted horror, but it neither succeeded on that higher level nor on the average horror scares and stuff.
But still, it had some moments. It's better than 95% of the horror crap released within the last few years, but I still won't give it higher than a C

B+


I liked it a lot and it's one of the better horror films of 2007. That just goes on to show that 2007 had many good horror movies, it's just that most of them were either not from the US or just not mainstream and widely released (The Orphanage, Fido, Hatchet, Wind Chill, Severance, Behind the Mask: Rise of Leslie Vernon and others come to my mind).

The Orphanage is a very classic haunting tale with a solid lead performance and a surprisingly good, yet believable twist at the end. It might be a bit slow from time to time and the ending is nothing you haven't seen before (I mean the very ending, not the twist) which is a bit disappointing, but it takes its time with the characters and delivers some very creepy and suepenseful moments (like the old woman after the car hit her or the disfigured boy attacking Laura and pushing her into the bathroom). It's very old school and finely-made horror, unveiling its secrets slowly, but surely. I think fans of good ghost stories should like it. For my part, I liked it more than The Others!

Fans of old-school horror movies should try and seek it out in theatres as long as it's playing somewhere next to them. It's certainly better than most of the horror films released last year!

I pretty much feel the same as Lecter. Its a very well made movie with some creepy moments.
I really liked the twist, it was very unexpected (the way the kid was killed). At first i hated when Simon came back to life but when i realized Laura was dead everything was cool and i liked it.

Fans of slow and haunting horror movies should see it. Its very good.

B+

Yeah, it had some good, creepy moments, and I liked the ending, but most of it felt like a retread to me. Nothing we haven't seen before.

B-

THE ORPHANAGE - 7/10 ( B )

A very good movie. My rating is almost close to a B+. It was creepy but also moving and the lead was great.

More of you should rent this and see it.

Just saw this last night and until I read the posts in this thread, I didn't realize the mother or Simon were dead at the end. How the hell did I miss that???


Overall, I thought the movie was pretty pedestrian in light of the hype, but now I don't know if that criticism is valid since a major plot point obviously soared right over my head.

I didn't buy the ending.
I didn't buy that the mother accidentally locked her son in the room.
I didn't buy that after hours of being locked, that boy didn't scream for help.
And if he did, I didn't buy that the mother didn't hear his scream.
And if she did, I didn't buy that she couldn't find where the scream came from.
Not mention the searching of the police.

It's not impossible, absolutely not. It could happen. Bad things happen all the time. This movie just failed to convince me. All leads to the thought that this depressing ending is really forced. I know, they have to end this like this to make the emotional impact. I just didn't buy it.

Fortunately (enough?), that was my only issue with this movie. And think again, it might not be a movie's fault but mine. Because if you ask me, I really don't know what would be the better ending. But issue is still an issue. And even with that ending, 'The Orphanage' is still a great, well-made horror film. Besides the ending, everything else was great. The overall mood, the tone was top-notch (thanks to the great cinematography and great directing). The acting was fine all around. Especially, the actress who plays the mother role, totally convincing.

And the imaginary scene (after the twist) was totally off. And this is absolutely not my fault. What is it for, btw. To make us feel better? I now realize, I might like the ending better if wasn't with this scene.

All in all, the movie was really great. Well, before the last 10 minutes, at least.

B+

7/10 -> B-

While I find it predictable and the whole ending a bit frivolous, it does have strong atmosphere and good acting for the most part.

The scene I liked the most was when the medium is trying to communicate with dead. At first it really looked goofy with it's Ghost Hunters imagery, but when the scene started to roll out it had a feeling of chill and uneasiness throughout.

The Others, practically also a Spanish horror with a (mostly) English cast, was a much superb effort in a haunted house genre.

great flick. up there with The Others.

Disappointing to me. I had heard great things about this one but in the end killing yourself so you can be with your son and old childhood friends is not quite the ending I like.

A

I loved the hell out of it... and yes, I was a wreck at the end.

I thought it was a big bore.

A

Terrifying.

It's downright awful, actually.

Belen Rueda is really good in it. Other than that, it's nothing more than average entertainment.

A very spooky tale about how tragedy leads to more tragedy. Didn't love the ending, but the movie is still very strong.

B+