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| The Orphanage | 
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| Actors: Geraldine Chaplin, Carmen Lopez, Andres Gertrudix, Fernando Cayo, Belen Rueda
Studio: New Line Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $5.50
You Save: $14.48 (72%)
New (57) Used (37) from $2.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  131 reviews
Sales Rank: 1218
Format: Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: Spanish (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 105
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: TRNDN38293D
UPC: 794043120718
EAN: 0794043120718
ASIN: B0015ET3YO
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: April 22, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
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| Customer Reviews:
[4.75] The Romeo and Juliet of horror. Dvd features (same for Blu ray) and Del Toro's Top 5 ghost story films. March 6, 2008
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
Laura returns with husband Carlos and son Simone to the orphanage she grew up in, to reopen it on a small scale for handicapped children. What Laura doesn't know is what happened after she left.
This is a great ghost story film, along the way it had some flaws and cliches but the ending is the payoff. Filled with good acting and effective scares The Orphanage, ultimately is a beautiful touching tragedy.
Guillermo Del Toro who produced this film mentions his top 5 ghost story films on Entertainment Weekly's website which I've listed below all of which he mentions were influences on the making of The Orphanage.
Del Toro's Top 5
5. The Uninvited (not available on dvd
4. Onibaba/Kuroneko (Onibaba criterion, Same director Kuroneko)
3. The Haunting
2. The Uninvited
1. The Changeling
Dvd Special features
Special Features
- When Laura Grew Up: Constucting The Orphanage featurette
- Horror In The Unknown: Makeup Effects featurette
- Tomas' Secret Room featurette
- Still gallery
- Rehearsal Studio
- Marketing Camp
presented in Spanish with English subtitles (similar to how 'Pan's Labyrinth', a film directed by Del Toro, was released).
The Picture and sound quality were great with noticeable bass.
A really good ghost tale. May 6, 2008
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
After a few of my amazon friends put this on the map. I had to see this for myself. I would have given it a watch anyway for the simple fact I'm a big fan of ghost stories. The Orphanage isn't too scary at all to me. But it definitly had some creepy moments.
The Orphanage is a clever, well told ghost story with some themes. This is something that has been lost in the horror genre for some time. The film manages to work its creepy atmosphere using it's slow pace, dialouge, and themes. It is completely free of those over annoying, over used cheap scares. Such as the "shadowy figure" running in the background. Or someone stealthly creeping from behind to say hi. Those are horror cliches that need to burn in he11 right now.
The film has some very solid acting, a really good story and a plot that kept me gripped the entire time. It takes a very good amount of time helping you get to know the characters and care about them. But for the thinking people who cherish a good story before blood, guts and cheap scares. Will appreciate the theme it is trying to push. The biggest drawback I would have to say is the music score. It's not bad, just like another reviewer mentioned. The slapstick music is pretty much out of place for the tone that was set. Other than that, I can't think of anything wrong with this film after watching it twice back to back.
This is not a film with a huge body count and gore. No over blown special effects here. No nudity for the flimsiest reasons and it's in spanish language with english subtitle. Stay away if you're looking for a blood bath. This is just your old fashioned ghost story with its biggest strength being solid storytelling and acting.
 Chilling, creepy, heartbreaking and, ultimately, exquisite April 4, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
A true gothic chiller in every sense of the word. From the beginning, the viewer is made aware that there's something very disturbing about "The Orphanage" and its sense of dread and doom prevail through the duration. Laura returns to the orphanage where she once lived with the hopes of establishing a home for children with special needs. In tow are her adorable son and her loving, if, at times, skeptical husband. Life couldn't seem sweeter as they settle into the foreboding structure they now call home. Shortly upon their arrival, the boy (Simon) prone to fits of fancy announces to his mother that he has met a boy that lives inside a seaside cave, which they stumbled upon shortly after their arrival. This friend, Tomas, whom no one but Simon can see, starts revealing things to him; things that he would have otherwise never known, including among them, that he was adopted and that he is ill and will soon die. After several other unsettling incidents, Simon announces that he now has five additional imaginary friends. One afternoon, while Laura is preparing to host a gathering for prospective residents, Simon enrages her and she strikes and scolds him before heading out to attend to the arriving guests. During the party she has an unsettling feeling when she sees a child with a sack mask seemingly staring at her. A child that we later realize no one but she can see and one that bears a striking similarity to one her son drew earlier in a portrait of his new friends. She runs back inside the house to seek out her son but is unable to find him, ending up in the bathroom. As she stands in the doorway she notices the child with the sack mask standing at the end of the hall and who slowly starts moving in her direction. After a brief altercation in which she is knocked inside the bathtub, the masked child closes and locks the door. Simon, we are later informed, is nowhere to be found and the parents are understandably crestfallen. What follows is a series of disturbing events that slowly illuminate all that has transpired, all while the landscape darkens and the sensation of tragedy and doom are heightened and the viewer is left to hold his breath. This is first rate story telling and the director's talents are in full evidence from the word go. This is textbook example of content over bombast. There a no special effects to speak of and gore non-existent. The characters are finely etched and the performances, uniformly excellent. From the imposing architecture of the house, to the rain swept, rocky coastline, solitary lighthouse and shadowy interiors, The Orphanage is a treat for the true lover of gothic horror and suspense. The conclusion is positively heartbreaking, yet equally beautiful and no one that sees it will soon forget it. Exquisite filmmaking, proving, once and for all, that restrain and subtlety pay dividends and when characters and not characterizations propel a story. If you loved The Devil's Backbone, The Others, The Sixth Sense or my personal favorite ghost story, The Changeling, you will more than love this wonderful atmospheric experience.
 Too many cliches and a unbelievable characters for me May 25, 2008
7 out of 20 found this review helpful
I just finished watching the Orphanage and I was really dissapointed. This horror/suspense film seems to have re-used ideas from other movies (Polterguiest, Final Destination, & all movies with a creepy little kid) in this genre to poor effect. It's characters and their actions are so unbelievable or cliched it was hard to finish watching this one.
The movie is about Laura. As an adult she's decided to move back to the orphange she partially grew up in. She plans on taking care of kids with disabilities just as she an other orphans were taking care of before in this same place. She's moving in with her husband, Carlos the Dr/skeptic and her son Simon the cute little kid with imaginary friends and HIV. Laura and Carlos seem to love Simon but are a little worried about him having imaginary friends. Maybe this problem will go away when the other children arrive.
Without giving anything away what bothered me the most in this film is that Laura and Carlos do/don't do things a normal person would do and so often act in cliche horror movie fashion. Laura goes into dark places alone without any protective measures and doesn't ask Carlos to accompany her. She also for whatever reason couldn't chase & catch an old woman that was in an old shed with her. Does Laura have bad knees or something?
Carlos is supposed to be a loving father/husband but he doesn't really seem to care about Simon or Laura. When Simon goes missing Carlos doesn't really seem to look for him. For example when Laura tells Carlos that Simon is in this dark cave by the beach, Carlos says he can't see him and doesn't go into the cave to search. In another scene Laura begs Carlos to give her two more days to search for Simon. He agrees to let her stay behind, by herself, in the huge apparantly haunted house so she can look some more while he leaves. Carlos also seems so skeptical of everything without any real reason. It's like he's being skeptical out of spite.
I must say again, while watching this movie I had the feeling that who ever wrote this wanted to use ideas and visuals that they liked from other horror movies but they really didn't have a story of their own to tell.
Also I've seen some compare this to "The Others". I have to say I was a big fan of The Others and this movie in no way compares. The Others was a smart film that had believable characters and a great twist at the end.
A Subtlety-Crafted, Beautifully Atmospheric Ghost Story July 22, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Before I start I'd like to clear up a wildly popular misconception about this flick.
It was not directed by "Pans Labyrinth" director Guillermo Del Toro.
He only produced this.
That being said.....
This was the best ghost flick I've seen since "The Sixth Sense"
(yes better than "The Others" & "The Ring" too)
and easily one of the most atmospheric to date.
Every facet of this film is beautifully crafted,
Attention is painfully given to each detail
& every angle is expertly covered.
There isn't a single scene that is irrelevant,
regardless of how subtle some might seem.
The most seemingly insignficant of which,
are easily the MOST relevant.
The plot, the characters, the setting, the atmosphere;
everything was Genius, pure genius!!
I damn-near cried at the conclusion,
which in my opinion could have been viewed as either happy, or sad, or both.
All around, it's an excellent flick!!
A worthy addition to any cinephiles collection.
I personally couldnt recommend it enough!
especially for those who loved:
"Tale of Two Sisters",
"Skeleton Key",
"Devils Backbone", or
"Pans Labyrinth"
MORAL OF THE STORY:
That which was lost, can always be found, because
That which was loved, can never be forgotten.
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