10 Horror Movies Too Scary To Watch Again

The anticipation of something frightening is far scarier than its realisation, and The Orphanage is the perfect example of a film that clearly understands this. The film works as well as it does because it's mainly anticipation, broken every now and again by a shocking image or occasional jolt, but it's never overdone to the point of diminishing the tension simmering away throughout.

The film's big twist is equally as heartbreaking as it is horrifying. It mirrors one particular tale from Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, with the missing bride discovered dead in a chest months after a celebratory game of hide and seek. As scary as the film's images are - and there are indeed many - it's primarily terrifying in concept.

It's a heavily romanticised ghost story: with the Gothic house setting; the games and cryptic clues; and the story's unmistakable fairy tale feel (Tomas and the orphans are essentially Peter Pan and the lost boys enticing Simon to join them before he disappears).

All of this is suddenly juxtaposed with the real and harsh reality of Simon's fate, which is far scarier and more cruel than if he had simply been taken away to 'Neverland' by his ghostly companions. We let ourselves get so carried away by the otherworldly, fairy tale feel of the film that when reality finally hits, we're faced with a whole different sort of horror.