The Orphanage (aka "El Orfanato")

"Believe and you will see."

- The Orphanage

In the spirit of Halloween, I had been building my list of scary movies to watch. I was looking for scary movies, both old and new, seen and never seen.

So, I decided to watch this movie based on a recommendation from my tweep, The Horror Digest (thank you!). I had never heard of this film before and decided to give it a go. I'm glad I did.

Since I'm very much into psychological thriller type films such as my last review, I really did enjoy watching this movie. The above quote sums it all.

Basically, it's a movie about perspective - how we see things and the difference between seeing and believing. And, if you start to believe so much in something then you will slowly begin to see things that some people may not see.

In turn, this becomes reality - your reality. And, what is real to you may not be real to someone else. (If you've seen the film, you'll know what I'm talking about).

I really enjoyed how the film presented the story to tell both the present and the past, and to connect the past with the present. Though the story went back and forth (present to past and vice versa), I did not feel confused - it had a unique way of telling the story. I also enjoyed the use of older objects and places to unveil past events - this worked very well in the film.

In addition, I also enjoyed the use of sound effects and images. Most of the film took place in the house (aka the orphanage) - there were many creepy sounds within the home being a very old home and all.

As with a lot of older homes, there can be many sounds within the home to make it spooky such as creaky stairs, older plumbing pipes, etc. This was the effect and experience I had watching this film - the whole house felt creepy.

There were a few twists and turns, which I really enjoyed. The film really kept my attention -I wanted to see more. And, the ending is definitely worth the wait. I don't want to spoil it for you but let's just say the film really makes a statement about the power of believing. And, how the power of believing can make things a reality.

If you're in the mood for a psychological thriller type horror movie, I definitely recommend this one.

(Note: For another perspective on the movie, check out my tweep's, The Horror Digest, review).

(p.s. By the way, the entire film is originally in Spanish with English subtitles).

Happy movie watching!



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