The Orphanage (El Orfanato) is a Spanish film produced by Guillermo del Torno, and directed by Juan Antonio Bayona. A couple move into the orphanage in which the woman was raised. It being a horror film, strange things happen, especially regarding their child who appears to have a range of imaginary friends. During a party, the child goes missing and the mother devotes her declining common sense and mental capacity to tracking down the child.

This is a good film, but it’s not a great film. I was promised a lot of scares, especially by Mark Kermode who discussed this film like it was competing to be the new Exorcist (and I guess I should have realised that that would mean a lot more to him than it does to me, since I didn’t think much of that film either). That’s not to say that this film doesn’t have some well-held suspense, interesting twists and turns, and an ending that I’ve heard described as being sentimental and rather soppy, but well, if you think about it, really isn’t. It’s just that the fear is very much over-reliant on trying to make you jump than getting deep inside your head.

The fact is though, that this is a considerably better horror film than you’ll have seen in a very long time, especially if, like me, you’ve been watching dross like Hostel or Saw. This film is considerably more intelligent than either of those (not hard, I hear you cry, and you’re right). However, in my opinion this is very much like the film The Others, except it’s not as good, so if you haven’t seen that film, perhaps try watching it second, and then you an enjoy both of them.