When I saw the trailer for The Orphanage (also known as El Orfanato), I said to myself, "Oh yay, another creepy children movie" (please imagine that in a drippy sarcasm font). And although I've enjoyed some of Guillermo Del Toro's other films, I really didn't care about seeing this one. Chris thought it looked good, though, and I read a review that made it sound better than the trailer made it look, so I relented. I'm glad I did. You see, I want to like horror movies. I enjoy watching a movie with a high tension level and a spooky atmosphere. What I don't like are films that decide that the best way to scare you is with a lot of over-the-top gory or disturbing imagery, and cheap jump scares. The latter is just stupid, and the former worms it way into my subconscious and messes up my otherwise cool dreams. The Orphanage realizes that a movie can be scary without relying on gore, torture, and loud noises on the soundtrack. It builds an eerie atmosphere through sheer power of story and setting. The titular orphanage is a beautiful old building, slightly Gothic but not overly so. It's the sort of place that you expect to have a few ghosts. One of The Orphanage's real strengths was its believable casting and portrayal of the characters. I'm not at all familiar with Spanish cinema, so I have no idea if any of the actors involved are well-known in Spain. I do know that Belen Rueda looked the part of a grief-stricken 37 year old mother, and her character's every action seemed to fit the situation at hand. This is not a film where the characters do something bone-headedly stupid just so they can end up in a scary situation. I'm going to take a serious hit to my tough girl cred here and admit that The Orphanage was so well done that there was a point near the end where I was honest-to-God crying. If the movie had ended at that moment, I would have given it a negative review. After the pointlessly grim tone of Cloverfield, I wasn't in the mood for a completely tragic ending. The real end is bittersweet, and left me satisfied. I don't need a happy ending, just one with meaning. You can draw some parallels between The Orphanage and Pan's Labyrinth. Both have a grim and dark tone. My husband Chris has been describing it as "Pan's Labyrinth, but with ghosts instead of faeries." I don't think that's quite an accurate description, but I do think that if you like one, you'll like the other, and if you find one too depressing, you'll find the other to be as well. But if you're looking for a dark, beautiful film that is at times sad and scary, you should treat yourself to a viewing of The Orphanage. Two closing notes: The Orphanage is presented in its original Spanish with English subtitles. Of course, for those of us accustomed to watching anime and wu xia, this is no big deal. Geez, if you'd told me ten years ago that I'd love foreign films as an adult, I would have laughed in your face. Also, while I was over at IMDB looking up Belen Rueda's name, I saw that this movie apparently draws heavily on Catholic mysticism and imagery. The reviewer suggested that those who aren't familiar with Catholicism may not believe certain elements or plot twists. Speaking as quite possibly the least Catholic person in the world, I have to disagree. Although I may not have drawn all of the allegorical connections that are supposedly in the movie, and I have no idea who the saint on the medal was, I still "got" the central concepts of the film. I think that most viewers of horror and fantasy films are capable of setting aside their own beliefs and entering a movie with an open mind, ready to accept that story's version of reality and its accompanying mythology.

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Copyright © 2008 By AJ Reardon E-mail AJ at: ErtheFae@aol.com Visit AJ at: www.erthefae.com