Review of The Orphanage (2007) by Frances H — 02 Mar 2014
Essentially a perfect ghost story. It has an amazing visual mythology far richer than anything in Shyamalan, and its plot has several more layers, each adding to the emotional weight. It comes as close to "creepy" as anything I've seen.
It is also scarier, and more importantly, each of the substantial frights is integral to Laura's character development in a very direct way. The finale is tremendously powerful - it's hard to believe the New York Magazine pays someone dull enough to think "Alas, there's no Ahhhh! moment at the end to justify the mounting tension.
" The reveal moment was unbearably, wonderfully emotional, and everything that follows continues to do it justice. The only modest flaw is the medium section, which seems like filler put there only to delay Laura's initiation of the finale, and which adds little to the exposition or to her development.
This review of The Orphanage (2007) was written by Frances H on 02 Mar 2014.
The Orphanage has generally received very positive reviews.
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