Orphans | 31 Days of Horror

Category Archives: Orphans

31 Days of Horror: Malevolent (MA; 2018; 89 min.)

Posted on October 22, 2021 | Leave a comment

There’s nothing quite like a spooky orphanage set in the misty countryside and featuring a dark past to set the stage for a good horror movie. Right? Well, let’s see…

When brother and sister Jackson and Angela, who secretly run a ghostbusting racket, are called upon to quiet the incessant noise the headmistress still hears from the girls slaughtered in the home’s violent past, what can possibly go wrong? Could Angela actually have some of the “gift” like her dead mother for communing with spirits? Might she see three young lasses, lips stitched shut, running about giggling, luring her into an unused wing of the mansion? Will Jackson’s money troubles cause him to ignore all warning signs and put him, his sister, his girlfriend, and friend in danger just for a big payday? Might the true horror still be lurking, willing to stop at nothing to keep the secret close to home? And most of all, will any of this be played out with decent acting, good suspense, jump scares, and a spine-tingling conclusion? Well…it’s not the best orphanage/ghost/sinister secret movie I’ve ever seen, but if you’re okay with a slowish plot, an overly annoying character (Jackson), and no true big scares, go ahead and give this one a go.

Top Scare: Car Scene
Heartbeats: 1 1/2 out of 5
Gore Factor: 2 1/2 out of 5
Scare Factor: 1 1/2 out of 5
Recommended for: 16 and up

Horror Movie: The Orphanage (R; 2007; 105 min.)

Posted on October 16, 2010 | Leave a comment

This spanish movie with English subtitles was actually better than I anticipated, creepy and well-told, with a satisfying ending. Very suspenseful too!

Laura and her husband Carlos, along with their adopted son Simon, have moved into what used to be the orphanage where Laura lived before being adopted as a young girl. They have plans to care for several disabled children there and are preparing for their arrival. After a walk on the nearby beach, Laura and Simon enter into a cave where Simon “meets” several young children who tell him that he is adopted and ill as well (he is HIV positive, which his parents have kept from him along with the fact he is adopted). They invite him to come play with them, and to join their group. Laura and Carlos think it normal that a young boy would have these imaginary friends and play along as well.

On the day of their Open House for the disabled children’s families, Simon disappears. Laura soon comes to believe that these imaginary friends are not so imaginary after all, but are the ghosts of her childhood friends from the orphanage who have somehow taken Simon to live with them. She calls in a medium to help her reach these children to find out about Simon.

The medium tells her that “when something terrible happens sometimes it leaves a trace…a wound that acts as a knot between two time lines. It’s like an echo repeated over and over, waiting to be heard. Like a scar…or a pinch that begs for a caress to relieve it.” Cool.

So Laura does discover that something terrible did happen to these children after she was adopted out, and asks them if they want to play one more time together. They do…

Top Scare: The medium’s visit
Heartbeats: 3 1/2 out of 5
Gore Factor: 2 1/4 out of 5
Suspense Factor: 3 3/4 out of 5
Recommended for: 13 and up

Next up: The Omen