Collegiate Times

Nothing is in disrepair quite like the horror genre. The once crowned jewel of the studios has faded into a sad freakshow of pointless sadism, psychological boredom, and comical ghost stories.

"The Orphanage," though, is just playing a game.

This Spanish thriller from director Juan Antonio Bayona plays with every aspect of contemporary horror. The rules have been set up many times over for better or worse: troubled past, large, dimly lit house, creepy children, possible psychological problems, ghosts and more.

Everything that can be ruined by a modern-day horror movie is here, and yet for some reason it all stays afloat. The frighteningly daring thing about "The Orphanage" is that it seems well aware of the cliche rules, and quite purposefully decides to play within them.

Laura (Beln Rueda) grew up in an orphanage, but as an adult she decides to move her family back into the enormous empty house and open it as a home for disabled children. She and her husband Carlos have an adopted son named Simn who spends his time playing games with invisible friends.

It's always interesting to see how in horror movies children and animals are the ones with the ability to see what everyone else chooses not to, and this film is no different. Simn's keen senses and nonchalant insistence in the existence of his invisible friends make him a quintessential creepy horror kid. Unfortunately Simn's games lead to his disappearance.

The line "The Orphanage" walks is as invisible as Toms, Simon's imaginary friend who wears a terrifying sack over his head that makes him look like a doll from a nightmare. The film, though, walks this line with the confidence of an acrobat. In every ominous shadow lurks convention and cheap thrills, but "The Orphanage" keeps on walking. It won't make you scream, and rarely will you jump, but the film will grind on you relentlessly. For something I knew I had seen a million times before in every way, I've never been so tense.

The difference is "The Orphanage" takes the time to win us over. I don't mean to say it lags or is most unfortunate of all, slow, because you'll find it hard to breath between silently mouthing "why would you do that!?" over and over. The film works because the family's plight is something tangible and believable instead of the typical ridiculousness, and the by the ending it's clear how hauntingly believable this film is.

Guillermo del Toro (director of "Pan's Labyrinth") produced "The Orphanage" and "Pan's" subtle mix of heartbreaking reality and the fantastic can be seen here.

For a ghost story, the film goes to no great lengths to convince audiences in the existence of the paranormal, and really encourages a discerning skepticism.

It's not clear whether Simon's imaginary friends are really running around the house, or if the distress of losing a child has forced their images into Laura's head, and Bayona beautifully blurs any distinction.

It's frustrating how logical everything is and how far Bayona pushes the limits of our faith in his reality, but the truly brave thing about the film is it refuses to explain itself.

After the tension on our nerves is slowly pulled back, the film doesn't neatly wrap up with some heavy handed, clear cut explanation, but it isn't needlessly ambiguous either -- which means don't expect a franchise of "Orphanages."

The reoccurrence of games in the film seems to point a finger at the most prominent destroyer of contemporary suspense, "Saw." Like "Saw," "The Orphanage" insists on playing a game but shows it has much more to offer than systematic sadism.

"The Orphanage" is extremely self aware and doesn't try to test the limits of the genre, but successfully plays within the rules and plays with our conceptions of what is scary. When the game is over it's clear that most horror films are playing a childish checkers of cheap thrills and torture, but "The Orphanage" dominates at a chess game of suggestion and suspense.