El Orfanato (The Orphanage)

A haunted orphanage, a mass murder gone awry, a hidden basement, a kidnapped child, and an eerie, ghost-filled cave. Think this batch of scenarios will provide the basis for the next unbearably dull horror flick? Think again.

“The Orphanage,” directed by Spanish newcomer Juan Antonio Bayona, is frightening, no doubt. The gloomy tone present throughout the entire film, the camera movements that crawl creepily around edges and corners in anticipation of jolt-inducing scenes, and spooky childhood games and lullabies will provide thrill-lovers exactly what they seek.

But viewers will also come away with something unexpected from a scary movie: a touching film about growing old and staying young, and the powerful bond between mother and child. The film, which makes clear allusions to J.M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan,” becomes, at its finest, a potent fairytale for adults. “Pan’s Labyrinth,” anyone? Producer Guillermo del Toro’s fingerprints are evident throughout the entire film.

Catapulted by its successes across the Atlantic, “The Orphanage” will play in American theaters after Christmas. Not only is the motion picture produced by del Toro, but “The Orphanage” is also Spain’s 2007 Academy Awards nominee for Best Foreign Film.

It commanded the biggest opening of the year in Spain as well as the second highest box office debut ever for a Spanish movie in the country.

The film beings with Laura (Belén Rueda) returning to the eerie orphanage where she used to live in as a child along with her husband and son. As mysteries surface around the building and her seven-year-old son grows increasingly obsessed with his invisible friends, Laura begins to worry about the state of her only child, who is adopted.

The sudden disappearance of Laura’s son takes her on a physically and emotionally drenching quest to her past, where she encounters the supernatural, uncovers many secrets, and surprisingly, finds some long awaited comfort.

Chiefly a one-woman show (if you only count characters with flesh), the film’s achievement depends greatly on Rueda’s successful portrayal of Laura. Rueda, who received heavy accolades for her role in the 2004 Oscar-winner for Best Foreign Film “The Sea Inside,” once again carries through with force, and powerfully depicts Laura’s internal battles and emotional decay.

The cinematography of the film is stunning. Bayona shoots many of the scenes in a beautiful coastal town in Spain with a breathtaking mountainous backdrop. The score, so crucial for horror films, creates an ever-present sense of apprehension, building great tension for the scariest scenes.

However, what most surprises about the motion picture is that it manages to find an ideal balance between horror and warmth, producing a unique scary flick both endearing and smart.

Today, when most horror films seem to follow senseless plots that provide more blood than brains (“Saw IV,” anyone?), films like “The Orphanage” show how much the American horror-film industry has to learn from writers like Sergio Sanchez, who crafted the film’s excellent script.

Is this eerily heart-wrenching production a masterpiece alongside the ranks of del Toro’s critically acclaimed brainchild? Not quite, but “The Orphanage” comes surprisingly close. Expect much from this director in the future. Bayona, we’re watching you.