Whitty on "The Orphanage"

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Juan Antonio Bayona's The Orphanage (Picturehouse) "won't be released until the end of December, and there will be plenty of [similar-type] films before then -- including the very big budget I Am Legend," writes Newark Star-Ledger critic/columnist Stephen Whitty. "But I'm willing to already call this little Spanish film the best horror movie of the year.

The Orphanage director Juan Antonio Bayona following our chat in the Majestic Hotel lounge in Cannes -- Wednesday, 5.23.07, 12:25 pm

"Admittedly, it's not going to be a big hit with the blood-and-guts crowd (although there is one gory shock midway through that left even a Fangoria writer shaken). And its scares have more to do with suggestion than special effects. Then again, that's exactly why I liked it.

"Watching it at the New York Film Festival, I kept thinking of classics like The Innocents and The Haunting, as well as the Spanish masterpiece The Spirit of the Beehive."

Damn straight. I said exactly the same thing four a half months ago. I expect many others to join in as the release date approaches.

After seeing it twice at last May's Cannes Film Festival, I wrote that The Orphanage is "hands down the creepiest sophisticated ghost story/thriller to come along since Alejandro Amenabar's The Others.

"If you ask me (or anyone else who's seen it here) it absolutely deserves a ranking alongside other haunted-by-small-children classics as Jack Clayton's The Innocents and Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now. It also recalls Robert Wise's The Haunting, although the ghosts in that 1961 film were all over 21."

comment #1

christian says ...

i am so there. THE HAUNTING is one my favorites.

comment #2

MilkMan says ...

If one were to judge this man by the picture alone, I think it would be fair to say that the only thing he seems capable of doing is conning a divorced mother of three grown children out of her life savings.

comment #3

EDouglas says ...

So funny, I had lunch earlier, sitting in between Juan and his actress, and I spent some time talking with Stephen afterwards about our respective New York critics groups.

comment #4

The Hoyk says ...

If this does well, I hope it will spawn the DVD release of another underappreciated piece of Spanish horror, LA RESIDENCIA. AIP released it in the '70's as THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED, in a truncated PG-rated edition. It's available in a longer but still-cut version in an upcoming "Elvira's Movie Macabre" collection, but what it really deserves is an uncut DVD release, with commentary from Guillermo Del Toro, who has openly championed the film.

comment #5

redangeldragnet says ...

Saw it in Toronto, it killed. A sure-fire hit if it was in English, but I'm not sure if it'll get the Pan's Labyrinth crossover audience in the US. Scary as hell though, with a couple of absolutely masterful set-pieces.

comment #6

Mr. Gittes says ...

Speaking of, what's the word around the water cooler regarding I Am Legend? Teaser was great...story was amazing...

comment #7

BurmaShave says ...

Is an English-language remake still already in the works, or are they waiting to let this try to make some coin and perhaps garner some awards?

comment #8

erniesouchak says ...

I thought "The Orphanage" was slick but ultimately just too preposterous. Wells, don't you think they would have combed EVERY INCH of that house when the kid disappeared?

comment #9

swhitty says ...

Don't believe production has started yet, but yes, New Line has the English-language remake rights. The director seemed more resigned than optimistic about this (he chose not to be involved).

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