Released: January 11,2007
Runtime: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
Director: J. A. Bayona
Starring: Belen Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Geraldine Chaplin, Mabel Rivera
Long before he graduated to Jurassic Park sequels, Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona made a big splash with his directorial debut, a wonderfully classy, refined, and straight-up terrifying tale of a haunted, abandoned orphanage. What starts out as a very laid-back 1970s-style occult thriller slowly evolves into a legitimate horror story, thanks mainly to somewhat excellent actors—but also because of some sudden, shocking jolts you simply won’t see coming.