10 Horrifying Haunted House Films
2. The Orphanage (2007)
Laura (Belén Rueda) returns to the orphanage where she grew up. After thirty years, the orphanage is no longer in use, but Laura plans to reopen it as a home for disabled children.
Laura’s son, Simón, tells her about an imaginary friend he’s made named Tomás who tells him secrets. Simón likes to draw pictures of his new friend; in them Tomás is always depicted wearing a cloth mask.
Later, when Simón goes missing, his parents and the authorities search desperately for him but to no avail. Having exhausted every lead, Laura concludes that the orphanage might really be haunted and returns late at night to play games with the ghostly children, hoping they'll lead her to Simón.
The trope of the creepy ghost child is a worn out cliché, and it's notable that The Orphanage avoids those clichés, and instead chooses to ratchet up its sense of dread throughout rather than opt for the cheaper scares lesser films might. This disquieting feeling lingers with you even after the film ends.
The Orphanage received universal acclaim upon its release and was praised for its sense of mystery and foreboding atmosphere. Besides being a wonderfully disturbing ghost film, the plot is engrossing, and each new sinister revelation only serves to make the film more tragic.