Saturday, January 05, 2008

THE ORPHANAGE

THE ORPHANAGE (El Orfanato) is a Spanish film presented by Guillermo del Toro who gave me my favorite film of last year, PAN'S LABYRINTH. The two films have a lot in common (perhaps too much). They are horror fantasies with child characters and confusion between the worlds of the living and dead. PAN was a much better film, but this film has a lot to offer, in particular a fantastic performance by lead actress Belén Rueda as the boy's mother. It also has a very good score, and some great sound work. It's greatest weakness is the last two scenes in the film, which hit the nail on the head unnecessarily ruining the beautiful mood of the last scene between mother and son.

I still recommend it.

3 comments:

ZiggyMustard said...

This was a great creepy film. I almost lost control of my bowels during a few scenes. :)

Well-made horror is an art.

Bondelev said...

Whaddya mean ALMOST???

ZiggyMustard said...

Now now...I enjoyed the rest of the film from beneath my chair. It's strange how a dead kid with a sack over his head can trip your nerves.

Forget about whosits from No Country For Old Men. Sack Kid was far more terrifying.