The Orphanage (2007)

The Orphanage (El Orfanato, 2007) is a slow-burning, emotionally charged horror-mystery about motherhood, memory and the way the past can come back to haunt you. Laura returns with her husband and adopted son Simón to the crumbling seaside house where she grew up — an old orphanage she plans to reopen as a home for disabled children. At first the mood is warm and hopeful, but Simón’s insistence that he has several invisible friends and his fixation on a mysterious cabin quickly shift the film into eerie, unsettling territory. When Simón vanishes, the story becomes a tense, grief-soaked investigation: Laura’s search pulls her into the building’s hidden corners, into childhood traumas and into encounters with things that may be supernatural. The film balances family drama and maternal love with mounting dread, using meticulous sound design, shadowy cinematography and sparse, effective shocks rather than gore. Performances are intimate and moving, so the scares land alongside real emotional stakes. Viewers can expect a haunting atmosphere, a slow reveal of dark secrets, and a mix of mystery-solving and psychological suspense. It’s as much a poignant drama about loss and guilt as it is a ghost story — lingering, melancholic, and unnervingly powerful.

Actors: Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep

Director: J.A. Bayona

Runtime: 105 min

Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery

6.7 /10 74 /100 7.4 /10 7.2 /10