Another wonderful movie from Guillermo Del Toro. Wonderfully eerie and mysterious throughout with subtle music, and a great cast. Oh wow, what a shocking twist ending!

'The Orphanage (2007)' is a slow burning psychological thriller that successfully blends the natural and supernatural together into one expertly crafted tale of tragedy, both past and present. It's always intriguing and is remarkably subdued, allowing the audience to piece things together alongside the protagonist. As it brings its horror into the mix, it masterfully plays with audience expectation and manages to craft some suspenseful sequences that stand out no matter how you choose to read the narrative. It's interesting and engaging throughout, a unique and unexpected tale that's infinitely enhanced by its ambiguity. 7/10

Drama/mystery/thriller with a half-horror environment. A woman decides to go live with her family to her childhood home that was an orphanage at the time. When her son begins to communicate with an imaginary friend, the house gradually reveals its sinister secrets.The premise is good, but it's just another ghost story where the ghost is not needed for the plot. In the end, a search inside the house was the minimum necessary for the woman to find the deceased body of her boy and the movie would last even less without the illogical things that succeed: how did the kid went to the basement if the door that leads there was closed years ago with wallpaper covering it? Did he cross the wall? Despite the implausibility of the story (that turns it stupid), it is well acted, has some disturbing and creepy scenes and has good cinematography, which is why I don't rate it less than 4/10.

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/