Un cuento de amor. Una historia de terror (A tale of love. A story of horror)
The former orphan Laura raises her adopted son Simón with her husband Carlos in an old house and former orphanage where she was raised. Simón is HIV positive and tells Laura that he has five invisible friends, and she believes they are fruit of his imagination. Laura decides to reopen an orphanage for handicapped children in the location and during the opening party, Simón calls her to show the little cabin of his friend Tomás. The busy Laura does not gives much attention to her son; then she sees a mysterious masked boy and Simón vanishes. Laura feels the presence of other persons in the house and months later, the desperate Laura invites a team of parapsychologists to try to unravel the mystery.
Genre(s): Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Runtime: 105 minutes
Rating: 7.7/10 (33,784 votes)
Release Date: 20 May 2007
Country: Mexico, Spain
Languages: Spanish
Company: Esta Vivo! Laboratorio de Nuevos Talentos
Sound: Dolby Digital, DTS
MPAA: Rated R for some disturbing content.
Director(s): Juan Antonio Bayona
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Producer(s):
Belén Atienza - line producer
Álvaro Augustín - producer
Sandra Hermida - line producer
Elena Manrique - line producer
Joaquín Padró - producer
Mar Targarona - producer
Guillermo del Toro - producer
Writer(s):
Sergio G. Sánchez - screenplay
Cast:
Belén Rueda - Laura
Fernando Cayo - Carlos
Roger Príncep - Simón
Mabel Rivera - Pilar
Montserrat Carulla - Benigna
Andrés Gertrúdix - Enrique
Edgar Vivar - Prof. Leo Bálaban
Óscar Casas - Tomás
Mireia Renau - Laura niña
Georgina Avellaneda - Rita
Music: Fernando Velázquez
Belén Atienza - line producer
Álvaro Augustín - producer
Sandra Hermida - line producer
Elena Manrique - line producer
Joaquín Padró - producer
Mar Targarona - producer
Guillermo del Toro - producer
Writer(s):
Sergio G. Sánchez - screenplay
Cast:
Belén Rueda - Laura
Fernando Cayo - Carlos
Roger Príncep - Simón
Mabel Rivera - Pilar
Montserrat Carulla - Benigna
Andrés Gertrúdix - Enrique
Edgar Vivar - Prof. Leo Bálaban
Óscar Casas - Tomás
Mireia Renau - Laura niña
Georgina Avellaneda - Rita
Music: Fernando Velázquez
Posted on: December 3, 2007
February 12th, 2009
Okay, so maybe not, but I have to say, there's something terribly wrongwhen you rent what should be a spooky horror movie and find yourselfbawling hysterically, not with fear but with genuine sympathy anddespair. I'd seen Pan's Labyrinth and found it to be beautiful andscary enough that I was trying to wake up my sleeping husband so Ididn't feel so alone in my bedroom. So, when I saw there was anothermovie out by the same guy, I had to see it plus, I'm a sucker for agood horror movie. It blew me away. With a genuine creepy atmosphere,this movie had me sitting on the edge of my bed but that wasn't whatwon me over. The actors were well cast, each one portraying theircharacter so that you ached and shivered with them. The storyline wasperhaps a bit unoriginal but let's face it, in this day and age, whatstoryline is original, and the actual script was well done. I foundmyself cursing at Laura when she didn't figure out what the hell wasgoing on from the beginning, if she'd been paying attention, it wouldhave been painfully obvious but being a mother myself, I don't know ifI'd have my wits around me enough to pick up on the clues. Then endinghad me sobbing, seriously, and swearing that I was not going to watchanother movie that gave me chills but left me in tears. Evil movies.This is a fantastic movie and if I had the patience to read subtitlesevery time I watched it, I would own it.
February 19th, 2009
I just recently saw this movie last night, and from my first timewatching this movie, I'm glad to say that it is one of the better movieI have seen in a long time. My friend actually picked up this movie &we had no idea it was a gem until we saw it.
First off: i hate gory horror films. Those ones like Halloween andhouse of 1000 corpses (I'm looking at you Rob Zombie) just aren'tinspiring at all. they're gross, not scary. El Orfanato is not one ofthose, and its great that they chose it to be that way. It's also notone of those movies with the stereotypical little girl crying blood orrelieving themselves on the floor (RE: Silent Hill and the hills haveeyes). So they did a good job on keeping the plot secretive until theend. horror flicks haven't had as much fun screwing with peoples mindssince the original Saw.
the acting is great too. It never feels over the top, and the were nocheesy lines that are found in a typical movie. You really connect withthe mother, you really want to know what happened to Simon but youcan't. You really want to know what happened in the past, but YOUCAN'T. thats what I love about these movies. There's nothing you can dobut watch and learn.
The only problem I have with this movie is some of the little plotgaps, that don't really come into effect or just are not clear at all.For example, we realize that yes, all the children die except forLaura, but why? we figure out benigna poisoned them, but it neverreally explains why she did so, and why Laura was killed. I just wentunder the assumption that Laura was adopted, yet her foster parentsplay no role in the movie. And also Benigna looks way older that Laura.In the past, she may have looked like 15 years older than Laura (at themost), but in the present, Laura describes her in her "70's". I mean,this isn't a huge issue, but if this was explained in some more detail,like in some deleted scenes, it probably would have been goodinformation to go by. but it doesn't hurt the plot.
as an IMDb score, 7.7 is a little bit lower than I would have wanted itto be. i would have given it a 8.3 or something. In terms of the moviesI have seen, I would definitely give this a 9/10. It only loses the 1point for the small plot pieces that weren't there.
so to sum this up: Plot (8) – good story, right down to the very end. Imade a few assumptions to get the most out of the plot.
Acting (9) – You really connect with Rueda's character, and Cayo whoplays Laura's husband, is a pretty good actor too.
Directing (10) – Expect Bayona to make more great movies. The fact he'sfriends with with del Toro makes him my hero. Plus it is his FIRST.well done Overall (not an average) : (9) Review by Justin Soucie, 2009
February 21st, 2009
Del Torro is a fine director, and having seen 'Pan's Labyrinth'recently, my expectations of 'The Orphanage' were high. It certainlydid not disappoint. Although I would not describe it as an out an outhorror film, it certainly has its 'jumpy' moments. The 'FinalDestination'-esqe moment in particular made me swear out loud in shock.The story is beautiful and touching – the wife admitted to choking backthe tears at the end. I read one negative review on here that comparedthe film unfavourably with 'The Others'. I personally found 'TheOthers' to be a terrible film, so predictable and unimaginative – Icaused great consternation in the cinema when I loudly said 'well he'sblatantly dead!' revealing the films mega-obvious twist long before itever got round to spelling it out for the less perceptive viewers. Incontrast, while 'The Orphanage' panned out more or less how I expectedit to, there were still elements of the ending that were like the finalpieces of a puzzle falling satisfyingly into place. The cinematographywas aesthetically pleasing as you would expect, and the actingperformances were of the highest quality. No doubt I could sit here andpick holes in the plot, but that would be pointless as any weak pointsdid not detract from the overall impact of a highly recommended movie.
March 16th, 2009
Although there are some nice moments here, few of its ingredients feelseven remotely fresh and it makes for a rather stale experience. Itsaptly directed, acted, shot, but the storyline is too similar to a lotof other horror movies. The Others most obviously.(although this oneaims to transcend horror into drama). Add some disturbed and somedisturbing kids, a mother that comes into contact with supernaturalforces and her rationale husband that doubths her. It feels like I'veseen all that a HUNDRED times over.
I still like its slow tempo and its atmosphere, this is a film thatreally saviors its scary parts for the right moments, and i do like itsconclusion, before then though, its derative nature had worn me out.
May 5th, 2009
Where to start.
First of all if you like Pan's Labyrinth you probably will find thismovie very interesting. It holds the same dark air around it, and thesame mysterious vibe that keeps you as the viewer tight to your seat.
You follow a young woman called Laura as she moves back to the oldorphanage she used to live, taking along her son and husband.
The interesting part is that right off the bat you notice some thingsare off.
Be prepared to get startled or even scared quite a few times duringthis movie, it is not for the faint of heart. The music only adds tothis, giving you the vibe of eerie darkness at times.
If you are a lover of ghost stories, horrors and/or drama's you willfind this movie quite appealing.