Skip to main content
    overview trailers & clips cast & crew ratings & reviews news

    R| 1 hr. 45 min.

    Plot Summary
    Laura (Belén Rueda) has happy memories of her childhood in an orphanage. She convinces her husband to buy the place and help her convert it into a home for sick children. One day, her own adopted son, Simón (Roger Príncep), disappears. Simon is critically ill, and when he is still missing several months later, he is presumed dead. Grief-stricken Laura believes she hears spirits, who may or may not be trying to help her find the boy.

    Cast: Belén Rueda , Fernando Cayo , Geraldine Chaplin , Montserrat Carulla , Mabel Rivera , Andrés Gertrúdix , Roger Príncep , Edgar Vivar

    Director: J.A. Bayona

    Genres: Drama, Thriller, Mystery, Horror

    Distributor: Picturehouse

    The Orphanage (2007)

    Release Date: January 11th, 2008|1 hr. 45 min.

    watch now

    set provider

    on tv

    edit provider

    cast & credits

    view all cast & credits

    ratings & reviews

    view all ratings & reviews
    critic reviews (10)
    fan reviews ( 17 )
    • 75
      Mick LaSalle San Francisco Chronicle

      Though the movie has a handful of shots that are downright gross to witness, what makes The Orphanage scary is not what it threatens to show but what it suggests about life. show more

    • 75
      Claudia Puig USA Today

      In a season filled with dark-themed films, it stands out as an elegantly mounted, surprisingly humane but terrifying horror thriller well worth seeing. show more

    • 60
      Joe Morgenstern Wall Street Journal

      You may see The Orphanage for what it is, an enjoyable contraption, without believing a bit of it. show more

    • May 22, 2008 psorjuanaines
      Report This User

      Stupid and careless mother!!!.

    • May 22, 2008 pj323jp
      Report This User

      I'm not surprised that foreign language films don't advertise that they are dubbed or have English subtitles but why don't critics make that distinction for us in the first paragraph of their reviews? I REALLY dislike reading subtitles while trying to appreciate the more subtle emotions on the faces of the actors. If I want to read dialog, I'll buy the book. From now on I'm going to ask for my money back when the film is subtitled and there is no indication of that fact prior to purchasing a ticket.

    • May 22, 2008 yetjean
      Report This User

      I knew this movie was scary before I went to see it. My brother likes these types of movies, I don't. But this movie made me think of how Alfred ********* built up the suspense---filming the actors overhead, through the stairways, from down the hall. I must admit, after S?mon disappeared, I watched this movie through my fingers. The Spanish was a little hard to follow (Spanish from Spain, they speak soooo fast) but I prefered the Spanish to having the movied dubbed in English. The original language made you really feel the emotions the characters were feeling. I hope to buy it when it comes out on DVD.

    featured news

    view all news

    'Paranormal Activity 3' and the Scariest Ghost Scenes in Movies

    Posted by     Eric Larnick on Oct 20th, 2011 7:00PM

    Audiences are expected to be massive for 'Paranormal Activity 3' this weekend, and if the film does its job, they'll potentially need to rush home soon afterward to change underwear. That's...

    First Full-Length Trailer for 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark'

    Posted by     Aiden Redmond on May 31st, 2011 2:00PM

    We love us some good horror here at Moviefone, though it's been a while since we've had anything worth getting excited over. Sure, the promise of another haunted-house movie has us cursing the...

    The 50 Best Movies of 2007 (and the 10 Worst)

    Posted by     Moviefone Staff on Dec 20th, 2007 12:00PM

    Some 300 movies came out in 2007, and we managed to see almost every one that mattered (sorry, 'Who's Your Caddy?'). Hollywood had a good year, despite all those three-quel let-downs. We battled...

    How do you watch stuff?

    loading

    How else do you watch?

    Select your online providers
    My Settings

    You are currently subscribed as: {email}

    Subscriptions

    Get the latest reviews, movie news, photos, and trailers sent straight to your inbox.

    Weekly Newsletter

    Daily alerts

    Movies

    You're not following any movies.

    These are the movies you’re currently following.

      Update settings
      X