Reviewed by Neil Davey
Stars Belen Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Princep, Mabel Ribera, Montserrat Carulla,
Andres Gertrudix, Edgar Vivar, Geraldine Chaplin, Oscar Casas | Written by Sergio C Sanchez
UK certification X | UK RRP £24.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 102 minutes | Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona
Looking back on her life, Laura (Rueda) was happiest during her years at the orphanage. While she was one of the lucky ones who got adopted, the time she spent by the sea with her friends in that rambling old building were probably the best of times. So, 30 years on, with husband Carlos (Cayo) and son Simon (Princep), Laura has moved back to the long abandoned building with a dream of restoring it to its former glory and opening the doors once more as a home for disabled children
From such humble beginnings grows the chilling tale of El Orfanato, or The Orphanage as the translation has it – and it should come as no great surprise to learn that Guillermo “Pan's Labyrinth” Del Toro has had a hand in this deliciously creepy experience. He may only be on board as a producer but his influence is obvious in Juan Antonio Bayona's direction and Sergio G Sanchez's story / screenplay.
The only problem in fact is the ending. Or rather the endings, plural: all five of them. The first apparent conclusion is absolutely stunning, a bleak twist that will be met with gasps of surprise, howls of anguish and the thudding noise of jaws dropping to the floor. If the film finished there, it would be be nigh on perfect. Hugely disturbing, yes, but nigh on perfect. Sadly though the director follows that with another scene that cannot help but undermine the raw power of the previous revelation. That's swiftly followed by a different pointless scene... and then another. And another. For some unfathomable reason, The Orphanage has more increasingly twee endings than Return of the King and each one obeys the law of diminishing returns.
It's a crying shame, because the 95 minutes before that point have been deliciously creepy, with all sorts of moments and images worming under the skin. Bayona and Sanchez spend most of the film working on the (correct) premise that big rambling houses are creepy but not as creepy as small, sinister children. And if you combine the two — small sinister children in a big rambling house — well you've got a formula designed to give nightmares. Throw in the best séance sequence since Poltergeist (with Geraldine Chaplin as the psychic) and you've got a truly terrifying experience and, potentially, the best ghost movie to ever come out of Europe. So why ruin it all with all those extra scenes and a pat, sentimental resolution?
EXTRAS There's a Q&A with the director and a couple of the other crew, filmed in London and hosted by the BBC's Mark Kermode. And, sadly, that's about all you'll be able to understand, unless you speak Spanish. Because there's a swag of deleted scenes, featurettes and other special features. All in Spanish, without subtitles. What an appalling state of affairs — if you want to own this film, save your money and buy the single-disc edition instead. At least the film itself is subtitled.