With the addition of The Orphanage, Spain is quickly making a name for itself as the new masters of horror.

The film is produced by celebrated filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro (who directed The Devils Backbone and Pans Labyrinth), and is directed by long time short film and music video director Juan Antonio Bayona.

As expected, The Orphanage benefits from Banoya’s keen visual eye, as it is filled with strong imagery.
But along with being a visceral treat, the film also contains quite an aural impact due to its excellent sound effects. Put together, a chilling experience is had.

The plot of the film concerns a former orphan named Laura (Belen Rueda), who has purchased her old orphanage and renovated it in hopes of opening its doors again as a home for children with special needs.
She moves into the building along with her psychiatrist husband Carlos (Fernando Cayo), and their adopted son Simon (Roger Princep), a highly imaginative young boy who is also HIV positive. When Simon disappears without a trace, Laura believes that the spirit of a deformed orphan accidentally killed years ago is extracting revenge for his death.

This in turn sets up one of the main themes of the movie, as Laura’s belief in the paranormal clashes with her psychiatrist husband’s scepticism.

This is the best ghost story since 2001’s The Others (which was also directed by a Spaniard, Alejandro Amenabar).

The plot is meticulously paced, as tension reaches breaking point and creates some genuine scares. This is especially felt during a frightening sequence where a spiritual medium channels the ghosts within the house, who are the scariest brats seen in a horror film since The Shining.

Hopefully, the style of Spanish filmmakers will rub off on the torture porn infested dregs which clog up the Hollywood back lot. Here is a horror film all about creating thrills, and less about vomit inducing gore (although a shocking gore moment does occur, which works spectacularly well due to the great work by the films make up effects team).

An ant-Hollywood ending pulls no punches and ends the film on a sad yet heart warming note, such is the power of the films material.