The Orphanage

"A tale of love. A story of horror."

2007 1h 45m ES

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 3,225

HorrorDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage, intent on reopening it. Before long, her son starts to communicate with a new invisible friend.

“A tale of love. A story of horror.”

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Cast

Belén Rueda
Laura
Fernando Cayo
Carlos
Roger Príncep
Simón
Mabel Rivera
Pilar
Montserrat Carulla
Benigna
Andrés Gertrúdix
Enrique
Edgar Vivar
Balaban
Óscar Casas
Tomás

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: J. A. Bayona
Writers: Sergio G. Sánchez
Languages: Spanish
Countries: Spain

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $79M — a 23.1× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 19 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by J. A. Bayona, shot by Óscar Faura. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Fernando Velázquez. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Elena Ruiz shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Belén Rueda and Fernando Cayo and Roger Príncep carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A tale of love. A story of horror.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

J. A. Bayona directs. Óscar Faura behind the camera. Fernando Velázquez scores. Elena Ruiz cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Spain. Dialogue in Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $79M — a 23.1× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
3Released 19 years ago.
4Directed by J. A. Bayona, shot by Óscar Faura. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Fernando Velázquez. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Elena Ruiz shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Belén Rueda and Fernando Cayo and Roger Príncep carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "A tale of love. A story of horror.".
9IMDB entry: tt0464141 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "beach", "wife", "suppressed past", "orphanage".