STUDIO: New Line
RELEASE DATE: April 22, 2008
STARRING: Belen Rueda, Fernando Cayo, and Roger Princep
WRITTEN BY: Sergio Sanchez
DIRECTED BY: Juan Antonio Bayona
FEATURES: "When Laura Grew Up: Constructing The Orphanage" featurette
"Horror in the Unknown: Make-Up" featurette
"Rehearsal Studio" - Director J. A. Bayona with the cast during rehearsals
Video segments about the filmmakers
Still gallery
Theatrical trailers

Why didn't more of you see The Orphanage? Maybe it's just one of those movies that needs the DVD market to build the appreciative cult following that it truly deserves or maybe we haven't made our adoration of it clear enough with our theatrical review, interview with the writer and director, interview with the star, praise for one of the best performances of 2007, and naming it the 5th best film of 2007. What's it gonna take? How about this? The Orphanage is not only the best movie to hit DVD so far this month (yes, better than There Will Be Blood, Sweeney Todd, Juno, or Charlie Wilson's War and only slightly below a title coming in a few weeks) but it's one of the most effective and emotionally powerful horror movies ever made. It's horror the way it used to be done by masters like Roman Polanski or Dario Argento with character as its driving force. The Orphanage is about universal fears like loneliness, death, and even parenthood. It suggests that our own fears can drive us to tragedy. With flawless performances, cinematography, writing, and direction, The Orphanage works from first frame to last. Don't just rent it on DVD next week, BUY it.

We've written so much about The Orphanage in the past few months, that we're going to break from the traditional pattern of DVD reviews on The Deadbolt and quote ourselves and the people who made the movie. Before we go, you should know that the New Line DVD is as perfect as it needs to be with a great video and audio transfer and some great featurettes about the making of the movie. Now, let's pass the mic and give interested viewers a few thoughts and quotes about The Orphanage, courtesy of The Deadbolt, writer Sergio Sanchez, director J.A. Bayona, and star Belen Rueda:

Theatrical Review
"The Orphanage is not just thematically heartbreaking and daring, it's one of the most technically accomplished films of the year. From first frame to last, it's impossible to take your eyes off of this film. Like Pan's Labyrinth (this film was produced by Guillermo Del Toro) from last year, it's a movie that I know I will watch again and again and that it will grow on repeat viewing as my own fears of the real world develop and change. The Orphanage should signal a shift in the horror landscape and show writers and directors that it's not gore or guts that create the true scares, but our common fear that makes things go bump in the night."

Belen Rueda, star of The Orphanage
"I think that the audience can feel all the things that the characters in the movie are feeling because they are universal fears. It's not just the situation of the missing son but the fears that all of us have about death and loss. All the people that see the film could connect with their own fear. I think that's the reason so many people like it. We don't tell them what they have to think. We tell something and each person can think what they want."

The Best Performances of 2007
"Every year or so, there's a performance of such physical and emotional stamina that it really deserves a different kind of acclaim. As Laura, a woman who may or not be going crazy after the disappearance of her son, Belen Rueda is in nearly every single shot of The Orphanage, and she's completely fearless and riveting in every scene. Unlike a lot of ghost stories, The Orphanage doesn't forget that it's the person at the center of the story that's the most important character, not the ghoulies that may or may not surround her. Rueda sells every twist and turn of a complicated character arc that will have you talking for days after you've seen it. Here's the basic truth - if she was a more well-known name stateside, if Penelope Cruz played the role, for example, she would be getting Oscar talk. It's hard for unknown American actresses to break into the top five, much less unknown foreign ones."

Sergio Sanchez, writer of The Orphanage
"I'm not really sure I had any cinematic influences when I was writing. My influences were more literary. One of them was Peter Pan. Basically, it was just that picture of Wendy's mother sitting by the window waiting for her child. That's the spark that ignited everything. I was thinking, it would be really interesting to tell the story of Peter Pan from the point of view of the mother."

Juan Antonio Bayona, director of The Orphanage
"All the different possibilities that the script offered. The characters were really well-written. All the set pieces had something very appealing. At the same time, it was the emotional. The script was so intelligent and so clever. It was the perfect balance between horror and emotion. That makes the story quite unique."

The Best Films of 2007
"When was the last time you were really, truly scared? I'm talking about that sensation when you don't just get a slight tingle in the back of your neck, but you can actually feel your muscles tense up. As someone who has seen thousands of movies, it's amazing that it can still happen to me, but I haven't been as truly terrified as I was during Juan Antonio Bayona's brilliant The Orphanage in almost a decade. But The Orphanage is a lot more than just an effective ghost story. It's a brilliant character study about loss and destiny that combines so many of the best parts of other stories that you'll almost feel like you've entered a dream state when you watch it. With elements of The Shining, Peter Pan, and even some of the best of Steven Spielberg's work, The Orphanage is a masterly crafted ghost story that might not even feature any ghosts. It's the kind of mind trick that recognizes that the most truly dangerous thing in the world isn't external, it's the fear that we create from deep within ourselves. As much as Pan's Labyrinth was a masterpiece of fantasy last year, the Guillermo Del Toro-produced The Orphanage is a masterpiece of horror."