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The Orphanage

El orfanato

2007

J.A. Bayona

Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep, Geraldine Chaplin ...

6.7

95,905

Horror. Mystery. Fantasy Laura spent the happiest years of her childhood growing up in an orphanage. Now, thirty years later, she returns with her husband and Simon, their son, with a dream of restoring and reopening the long abandoned orphanage as a home for disabled children. As the opening day draws near, tension builds within the family. Laura slowly becomes convinced that something long-hidden and terrible is lurking in the old house, something waiting to ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times	"An excellent example of why it is more frightening to await something than to experience it (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	Lou Lumenick New York Post	"I am not easily frightened by movies, but 'The Orphanage' (...) thoroughly got to me both times I saw it (...) The year’s scariest movie."	POS
United States	A. O. Scott The New York Times	"Even though 'The Orphanage' is Juan Antonio Bayona’s first feature film, there is no doubting his skill."	POS
United States	Ed Gonzalez Slant	"It seems that only someone with the flimsiest knowledge of horror’s rich cinematic history could praise the director’s shallow, plagiaristic pastiche (...) Rating: ★½ (out of 4)"	NEG
United States	James Berardinelli ReelViews	"For those who enjoy ghost stories and are willing to be patient with a movie that gradually unveils its secrets rather than uncovering them all in an orgy of violence and terror, 'The Orphanage' fills a need (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	Noel Murray AV Club	"While some of the trappings and even some of the plot elements could easily be called unoriginal, Bayona and screenwriter Sergio G. Sánchez arrange them in a fresh way, crafting an emotionally resonant, nerve-jangling experience."	POS
United Kingdom	Peter Brunette Screendaily	"The action ramps up and the film transcends its genre (...) A powerful, full-scale exploration of motherly obsession with her offspring"	POS
United Kingdom	Olly Richards Empire	"A good old-fashioned horror in the best possible way, this is a beautifully told, terrifying ghost story that lingers with you long after the shivers have stopped (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	Ellie Violet Bramley The Guardian	"What's so potent, after the horror has died down, is the very raw sense of loss and bereavement at the film's centre."	POS

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