The Orphanage

Introduction

Laura (Belén Rueda) returns with her husband and adopted son to re-open the orphanage where she grew up and turn it into a home for children with special needs. Her son, Simón (Roger Príncep), begins to see and talk to an increasing number of invisible friends, then during the open day he disappears.

Haunted by a vision of Simón and strange occurrences in the house, Laura refuses to believe that he is dead, even as the months pass. Her husband, Carlos (Fernando Cayo), is the rational half of the couple but grudgingly accepts when Laura calls in a team of parapsychologists.

Video

Modern films look great when quickly transferred onto DVD and this is no exception. It's a beautifully filmed movie and the transfer does it justice.

Audio

A terrific Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack with a superb score and enough atmospherics to maintain the tension and then delivers the shocks to great effect. There is also a stereo option available. The optional subtitling is unproblematic.

Extra Features

A nice array of features are to be found on the second disc, covering just about every aspect of The Orphanage from pre- to post-production.

Q & A With J.A. Bayona - Moderated by Mark Kermode after a screening in London, this is an interesting 40 minute feature.

The Making Of The Orphanage

The Set Of The Orphanage

The Sound Of The Orphanage

Interview With Guillermo del Toro and J.A. Bayona

Lighting The Darkness

Roger Princep - The Casting - This shows the difficulties of working with such a young and inexperienced actor.

Deleted Scenes - 9 deleted or extended scenes; the film doesn't miss them.

Storyboards - 3 sequences with storyboard on top and film on the bottom for comparison.

Shooting The Credits

Animatics - Animated storyboards with commentary.

Theatrical Trailer

Projections - All of the 8mm footage which Laura watches in the film.

Conclusion

Similar to The Innocents, The Others and Dark Water, this is a really moving and creepy ghost story, with some excellent jumps. Guillermo del Toro, who presented The Orphanage, has lent his name to this for a reason and director Juan Antonio Bayona is a name to look out for.

The cast are superb, especially Belén Rueda, who was excellent in The Sea Inside and young newcomer Roger Príncep impresses.

The Orphanage is an intelligent take on the haunted house genre and a heart-wrenching tale of a mother searching for a missing child. Watch it before the inevitably inferior American remake comes along. It's hard to stress how good The Orphanage is, or write too much without spoiling it for you, so suffice to say: rent or buy this great film.