Most modern scary movies cast the mild-mannered orphanage in a sinister light, with some sort of deep, dark secret or an evil caretaker running the establishment. In the end, the main character usually pulls the oddly placed manuscript off the bookshelf and reveals the inner layer full of Bunsen burners and schematics only to find severed heads and satanic drawings.
However, Juan Antonio Bayona defies logic in his latest film “El Orfonato” (“The Orphanage”) and actually portrays the orphanage as a place of happiness and light. It just so happens that this particular orphanage had something especially evil happen at it sometime long ago — otherwise, it’s totally fine.
Belen Rueda (from “The Sea Inside”) stars as Laura who buys and refurbishes her beloved childhood orphanage where she lived before her adoption. She moves her family in and begins her renovations, but notices strange events occurring specifically around her son Simon. He talks in empty rooms and begins referring to his “new friends” who seem to resemble Laura’s fellow orphans in Simon’s drawings. However, everything seems hunky-dory until opening day when Simon mysteriously disappears. Laura begins to find clues around her house as to Simon’s location in the fashion of games that she played as a child with the other orphans. Creepy, no?
Let me begin by saying that this movie is very good, but now we’re about to enter that awkward space where I say bad things about the film, but alas, I must. Although this film is amazing and well made, the label of “scary movie” is just an absolute misnomer.
Although it has a few hair-raising parts, the film isn’t scary. What’s the word I’m looking for? Tense? Yeah, that’s it — this film is extremely tense. There’s a discernable and palpable anxiety to “The Orphanage,” but you will be disappointed if you are looking to be scared (I know I was).
This movie is more about a mother’s love and dedication for her child, and it takes many tangents along the way. That’s also part of the problem — “El Orfonato” is a bit meandering in its examinations of marriage, parenthood, the paranormal, science versus faith, etc. (and that’s only touching on the myriad themes and discussions throughout the film). It lacks a unity and cohesion to its story-telling that’s particularly annoying at some parts, but most of the time, it’s just plain boring.
Admittedly, I may be a victim of the “expectations game” with this film — but throughout most of the movie, I found myself thinking, “Just get on with it!” Let me say it again, this is not a scary movie. It’s a movie about a mother who loves her son, and however heart-warming and touching it is (the film really is, especially at the end), it seriously drags at times.
Sorry, Guillermo del Toro — the phantoms and frights of this film just simply don’t exist.
(2 out of 4 stars)
