10 Horror Movie Characters Who Don't Say Anything

In spine-chilling Spanish horror from writer-direct JA Bayona in his feature debut, The Orphanage sees former orphan Laura (Belén Rueda) - alongside her husband (Fernando Cayo) and adopted son Simón (Roger Princep) - move into the orphanage she lived in as a child. The plan is to renovate the old building and turn it into a home for disabled children, but events take a ghostly turn when Simón is taken by the spirits of the children who haunt the orphanage.

Laura’s plight to find her son takes her down a rabbit hole that unearths the orphanage’s sinister secrets, which revolve around the ghost of a boy named Tomás (Óscar Casas).

Wearing a creepy mask and remaining silent throughout the film (the only sounds he makes being rasping grunts), Tomás embodies everything that makes children in horror films so scary. However, despite his initial threatening appearances, Tomás’s tale is one of immense tragedy.

When the fates of Tomás and the other children are discovered, The Orphanage’s spooks are replaced by a sombre reminder of how vulnerable children can be. This is where the true terror of this movie lies, and it’s also what makes for a genuinely heartfelt ending to this hidden gem horror flick.