74
Metascore
33 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90NewsweekDavid AnsenNewsweekDavid AnsenA great horror movie is like a good shrink--and a lot cheaper, too. It purges us through petrification. That horror movie, thankfully, has arrived. It's called The Orphanage," and it is seriously scary.
- 90VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangA fastidiously grim ghost story that rattles the bones of the haunted-house genre and finds plenty of fresh (but not too bloody) meat.
- 83The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayWhile some of the trappings and even some of the plot elements could easily be called unoriginal, Bayona and screenwriter Sergio G. Sánchez arrange them in a fresh way, crafting an emotionally resonant, nerve-jangling experience.
- 75Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsChicago TribuneMichael PhillipsAs in “Pan’s Labyrinth,” The Orphanage relies on a risky blend of clinically realistic horrors and poetic suggestions of an alternate world, one that can be visited, but at a price.
- 75TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghThe filmmakers know the tropes of spooky movies: Glowering shadows, squeaking playground equipment, eerie storms and half-glimpsed forms, but the film rests on Rueda's subtle, intense performance, rooted in every half-articulated anxiety that ever gnawed at a parent's brain.
- 70L.A. WeeklyMark OlsenL.A. WeeklyMark OlsenThere’s not really a bogeyman in The Orphanage and not much blood; just insane intensity and a building sense of bad vibes.
- 70Los Angeles TimesCarina ChocanoLos Angeles TimesCarina ChocanoAn unexpectedly poignant ghost story.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterRichard James HavisThe Hollywood ReporterRichard James HavisThis Spanish supernatural thriller begins interestingly and finishes intriguingly. But what lies between drags because the film lacks a driving story line.
- 70The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottThe Orphanage, a diverting, overwrought ghost story from Spain, relies on basic and durable horror movie techniques.
- 63PremiereAaron HillisPremiereAaron HillisThe Orphanage's joys come from the experiential: Bayona's cultured technical skills, including some phenomenal sound design, and sustained anxiety. It's about as healthy as junk food gets.