The Orphanage (El Orfanato)

"Guillermo Del Toro may only be listed as producer for this award-winning Spanish chiller (directed by newcomer Juan Antonio Bayona), but the crisp, elegant visuals and poignant supernatural themes have his magical fingerprints all over. This would be a worthy addition to his own canon, had he been at the helm, and that's high praise."

"A fastidiously grim ghost story that rattles the bones of the haunted-house genre and finds plenty of fresh (but not too bloody) meat."

"The Orphanage, a diverting, overwrought ghost story from Spain, relies on basic and durable horror movie techniques."

"A shiver of fear runs right through Juan Antonio Bayona's pungent and scary film."

"The Orphanage's joys come from the experiential: Bayona's cultured technical skills, including some phenomenal sound design, and sustained anxiety. It's about as healthy as junk food gets."

"Accomplished first feature... High profile producer (Guillermo Del Toro) – check. Creaking mansion and murderous ghost children – check. All the performances are well-directed, especially lead actress Belen Rueda’s engaging turn as a conflicted mother. The cinematography and mise-en-scene is well-crafted and beautiful. There’s nothing wrong with it – indeed, there is a lot about it that is technically very right. However, despite all this, it doesn’t quite connect."

"A good old-fashioned horror in the best possible way, this is a beautifully told, terrifying ghost story that lingers with you long after the shivers have stopped."

"Haunting and heartbreaking, The Orphanage delivers a double whammy of chills both real and supernatural."