El Orfanato

Jump to Comments

I only broke my rule against scary movies and agreed to see The Orphanage (El Orfanato) because it was all that was playing after 11 pm at the Sunshine and on the strength of the production of Guillermo del Toro of the startling Pan’s Labyrinth.  I liked it, though I confess that I probably spent a third of it with my knees curled up to my chest and my hands over my eyes.  I have not yet learned to love being scared for fun… except maybe I have, if it’s beautifully made, if the story comes together, if the children are just children (not evil dolls, to make it plainer), and if the creepiness isn’t gratuitous.  This one failed me slightly on the last count but succeeded tremendously on all others (and really I’d say there were only two or three moments of gratuitous creepiness).  Also, it’s fun watching movies like this in the theater – maybe everyone but me takes this for granted, and it’s just that I never do it, so I notice – because it’s such a shared experience: the audible gasps and sighs of relief and giggles when something goes a little too far.  But when I got home to my building tonight, I sort of ran through the halls and slipped through my door and slammed it behind me… now I have to curl up with my cat and a book for a little while so I can go to sleep and not think about the film.  That’s the problem with creepiness that’s done well… I want to mull it over a little because it was a rich experience… but it’s better left in the theater or I’ll end up wide-staring-awake all night long…

But I still haven’t seen Atonement, which was the original plan.

3 Comments

Filed under movies, randomness