Psychological horror is, in my humble opinion, often a scarier concept than that of the 'jump horror' genre. The sense of mental torture, one which can drive its victims to suicide or a life-long suffering, is a far more terrifying realisation than that of an axe-wielding maniac. Or at least that's how I see it.
Whilst [REC] and The Orphanage are both Spanish films, that is where any similarities end. Whilst the former is about intense physical horror, exploiting gore and the concept of 'jump' scares to wrap its audience, this is a film which explores the pain of losing a loved one, but also the torture of trying to embrace life without them. Belén Rueda is the beautiful lead, playing a foster mother who accidentally kills her son in a freak accident but doesn't realise, leading to a series of traumatic hallucinations and psychological breakdowns.
Where The Orphanage excels in its ability to merge the concept of reality, and that of the imagination. Throughout the film, it is never clear whether Laura, the tragic mother, is in total control of her own pysche.
With an ending as touching as it is poignant, the film serves up a truly mind-bending experience. The treatment of death as a pyschological wound is wonderfully realised, and the camerawork is on the whole a fantastic aspect of what makes the film so enjoyable to watch. Not just as a practice in subtle horror but also as a means of appreciating the tragedy of personal grief.
7/10
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