The Orphanage

This is a movie from Spain about a husband and wife who buy a house on the coast and are renovating it to turn it into a home for mentally and physically handicapped kids. The mom grew up in this house in the orphanage that was there years ago. It’s a scary horror film with a lot of scary jump scenes and pretty suspenseful atmosphere. Even with subtitles, it’s pretty creepy and frightening. The mom and dad throw sort of an open house to show families that they’re alright people, so there’s lots of kids (and downs syndrome kids) running around with masks. Their adopted son Simon has HIV and after a fight with his mom, he disappears during the party. His mom is sure Simon has been taken by his imaginary friends who are turning out to NOT be imaginary. The mom starts finding clues to a game that Simon played when they first moved into the house. She brings in a medium to see if her son has been killed and things start to get a little trippy in the house. Her husband can’t stay in the house and gives the wife two days alone in the house to figure out what she can. You think she’s going insane, but she’s not. It gets CRAZY up in thur. This is one of the better horror films I’ve seen in a long time. I heard a faint splash about it a while back, but not much more than that. I’m really surprised. It’s a very good and suspenseful movie, with minimal bloodshed. I’m guessing the subtitles scared the mainstream horror crowd away. This is probably one you’ll want to keep the lights on for, or you’ll be jumping at the next noise your house/apartment makes, and hoping some kid in a scarecrow mask doesn’t smash your fingers in the door.