12 Best Horror Movies Since The Year 2000
3. The Orphanage (2007)
A woman returns to her childhood orphanage with dreams of transforming it into a home for handicapped children. Her adopted son, Simón, strikes up a friendship with an imaginary boy wearing a burlap mask. A mysterious social worker makes intrusive inquiries. At an introductory party for the orphanage, Simón and his mother fight. Afterwards, he disappears without a trace.
This is the premise for The Orphanage, a flawlessly executed haunted house film. Like so many of the movies on this list, this one is emotionally engaging with sympathetic characters; once you're drawn in the scares are entirely more satisfying.
The setup is supernatural but the protagonist's motivations are realistic and convincing: a mother really would stop at nothing to discover the fate of her son, even if it meant provoking beings from the afterlife with a calm un, dos, tres, toca la pared! Childish games have never been so terror-inducing.