horror analysis- The Orphanage

Film: The Orphanage
Director: Juan Antonio Bayona
Distributors: Warner Bros. Pictures and Picturehouse
Country: Spain

Plot: The Orphanage is based on a woman's return to the orphanage where she grew up and she plans on reopening the orphanage as a home for disabled children. Whilst their her adopted son Simon claims to see other children with whom he will run away, later on in the film Simon goes missing.



Camerawork: The camera often zooms in quickly to shock the audience and to bring their focus onto certian things such as a dark doorway. Handheld camera is also used to be able to turn corners abruptly to create a feeling of unease and anxiety.

Mise en scene: The entire of this title sequence is animated, which therefore removes the idea of realism and also makes the film seem more creepy because it is unrealistic and therefore unpredictable. The colours used in the title sequence are only yellow and black, which have conotations of being old and therefore mysterious.

Narrative: The shots are often shown walking down a long corridor, which creates fear and tension because you don't know what to expect. Another shot is of the shadow of a child on the staircase, the fact that it is a shadow adds to the mood because we cannot see their face and so don't know them as a character, it is kept a secret. They are also shown alone, which could mean that there is something wrong with them and they are being avoided or punished, or it could be that something has happened to the other children, all of which are worrying circumstances.