Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Audience Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Binding: DVD
EAN: 5055201803207
Format: Box set, PAL
Label: Optimum Home Entertainment
Languages: EnglishSubtitledSpanishOriginal LanguageDolby Digital 5.1
Manufacturer: Optimum Home Entertainment
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: Optimum Home Entertainment
Region Code: 2
Release Date: July 21, 2008
Running Time: 102 minutes
Studio: Optimum Home Entertainment
Theatrical Release Date: 2007

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Editorial Review:

Amazon.co.uk Review:
Backed by Guillermo del Toro and yet made by a surprisingly inexperienced group of film makers (especially considering the end result), The Orphanage is a chilling, tense supernatural thriller that could certainly teach more established directors a thing or two about how to send shivers down the spine.

It tells the story of a woman, Laura, returning to the orphanage where she was raised as a child. Her plans are to look after sick children there, but it doesn't take long for things to go awry. Without giving too much away, visions from her past and a threat to her own family are the starting points for a complex and quite haunting thriller, that stays in the mind long after the credits have rolled.

A film that works on more than one level, The Orphanage really is some piece of work. Juan Antonia Bayona, behind the camera, generates an incredibly atmospheric mood that underpins the film, and wisely takes time to put pieces in place. He's aided by a terrific cast, and an unsettling screenplay that layers in an uneasy horror that's as anti-Hollywood as it comes.

The result of all of this is one of the scariest films of recent times, and yet something that still manages to be that little bit more, that sticks in your mind for some time afterwards. Make no mistake, The Orphanage really is something different, and all the better for it. --Jon Foster




Rating: - Brilliant, bittersweet, satisfying film - not for horror lovers though
This is a brilliant film, up there with his "Pan's Labyrinth" and even better than "Devil's Backbone" which it in some ways resembles - a ghost story involving a children's home. A film about the fierce love between parent and child, which transcends death. I loved the bittersweet ending. It is not a horror film, so if you like horror movies, choose something else.

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Rating: - Eerie
The Orphanage is a psychological ghost story with a classic set-up involving nervy woman, empty old house, creepy kids; it is especially reminiscent of The Others but also of many other films like Don't Look Now and The Haunting and Henry James' classic novella The Turn of the Screw, which seems to have given rise to this whole subgenre of films. The Orphanage is far superior to the Others, in my opinion; Belen Rueda gives a far better performance than Kidman, not least because her face has retained ... Read More

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Rating: - Good but not terrifying
This is a good watch once horror. The first time i watched it it was at night which only added to the horror. The film is jumpy and has the elements of a good ghost story which i always find scary.


Like Rec. the last film i reviewed this film is in a foreign language - in this case Spanish which some people might find a turn off but it didnt bother me.

The ending is very good and has a certain grace that other horror films so often lack. Unfortunately i would say that ... Read More

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Rating: - Heartbreaking
Heartbreakingly sad film, let down only by the predictability of the ending. I agree with a previous reviewer, it's not really a horror movie as is often hyped, more of a spooky-mystery-tragedy, although mystery is a bit strong as it's obvious what the outcome was going to be.
Contains some fine acting from the likes of Belen Rueda and Geraldine Chaplin.

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Rating: - Excellent Thriller from the Spanish Team
The Orphanage, does bring sophistication in ghost stories which is rarely heard of, but Guillermo Del Toro manages to pull it off time and time again, and somehow he even managed to inject his magic into this one, which he only produced - as this very much plays out like one of his own films. Not to discredit Mr. Bayona, though, for he has done a fine job. This is a dark, powerful, and moving masterpiece that both adheres to convention and brings some new, more artistic elements to the table in the direction ... Read More

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