El Orfanato
Freeze-tag has Never Been This Terrifying.
I had been looking forward to this for a while now. And I was NOT disappointed. It was gorgeously shot, acted and designed from the get-go, and still managed to scare me retarded.
I do need to say that it felt very derivative. The concept of the film--the relationship between a mother and child and how it changes in the face of supernatural phenomena--is familiar. The two elephants in the room are The Sixth Sense and The Others, two films considered by film writers as templates for well-executed horror stories that rely on atmospherics and psychology rather than cheap scares or too much CG. And so the elements of the film certainly feel derivative, although the acting, pacing and absolutely beautiful photography help distract from that feeling of familiarity. Though the film feels derivative, it is the kind of derivative that is perfectly, wonderfully effective, and that I'd like to see more of. Yes, there's another Scary Little Kid, but Tomas is the kind that is genuinely disturbing. In a contest to see how many adults they can frighten into catatonia, he'd spank every other spooky kid around until they cried, including Samara.
I have to say, it'd been a while since I saw a good horror movie in the theater, and when the theater's full of people not afraid to jump or cry out some inarticulate 'Huhbuh?!' when startled, it's even better. I saw it with my dear friend wyckeddiva, who is one of the best people to see a scary movie with as she jumps, screams, and claws my arm. I'll be honest, I was holding my jacket up to my face, ready to totally hide under it during some scenes. It's that good. This is also Spain's entry for Best Foreign Picture for the Oscars, another fact that helped entice me to the theater. That they'd put so much stock into a 'scary movie' for their entry was an enormous incentive.
The premise would be straightforward but for a few interesting variations from the norm: Laura grew up in an orphanage, and as a married adult returns with her family to her childhood home with the intention of reopening it for a few special-needs children. Her own son has a special condition which allows him to be home-schooled, and as a result of his isolation has created invisible friends which he brings with them to his new home. His parents are concerned of course, but his father is confident that when the other children arrive Simon will forget his invisible friends.
Until of course he makes a new invisible friend, Tomas.
Very frightening things ensue, noises begin in the night, a social worker with mysterious motives turns up, and Laura begins to question her own sanity. When Simon disappears into thin air she begins a downward spiral that becomes a freefall. The unraveling mystery of the orphanage's past is deliciously laid out for the viewer to piece together as Laura does. The 'finding game' that is played felt a bit like something from a survival horror-video game, but it worked. There are weak points of course, but overall I loved this movie. And the ending tugged the heartstrings, but it was earned.
The lead actress, Belen Rueda, had the kind of passion and fire that makes everything she does fun to watch. I could watch her make a patchwork blanket for the whole movie and be happy. Her face is lined and careworn at 37, and although nothing was ever said I got the feeling she'd had some rough times in the past. Not sure why. Anyway, her performance was as consistently good as everything else in the film. Her fierce loyalty to her son came across less as generic mom-stereotype of 'I have to protect him because that's what's expected of me' than 'I had to fight to have him, and I will fight to keep him.'
I have to say though, that I am kind of worn out with the tired horror trope of a female protagonist going through all this stuff, because it's based on the premise that women scare more easily, are more likely to show their fear, are more in touch with their emotions, et cetera. I think it's assumed in these films that men are less likely to notice strange phenomena (her husband is a world class expert in dismissing crazy shit, as he doesn't even get up to check on their wailing son in the night) because they are less prone to flights of fancy, or something, and more likely to deal with the problem in a direct way, such as moving from the house once things get weird.
I'd like to see more horror movies dealing with male psychological fear--women have born the brunt of the slow descent into madness as a result of supernatural happenings in recent films, it'd be nice to see a deconstruction of the male ego, especially the rabid need (at least for male characters in these movies) to explain everything as rational and convince themself and others that everything is okay. Poltergeist was a memorable experience, although a bit over the top ghosts-wise. The weird fiction of the thirties--with authors such as Arthur Machen, ALgernon Blackwood and of course the old Shoggoth-herder himself, HP Lovecraft-- are a rich, untapped mine of the stuff. But I've rambled off topic enough.
I think I'll just say that if you really enjoy good psychological horror that doesn't rely on too much CG or things jumping out at you, you would enjoy this movie. 2007 was a damn good year for movies, but if the bar stays as consistently high with the occasional entry like The Orphanage, I think 2008 will be pretty awesome as well.