Current release: THE ORPHANAGE

This Spanish horror comes to your nearest arthouse cinema plastered with the banner "Produced by Guillermo Del Toro" or something like that. I'm usually cynical about anything that emphasises producer over director, writer or even star but in this case you can definitely feel the guiding hand of the PAN'S LABYRINTH director.

In terms of Del Toro's output, the film's closest cousin is probably THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE but it is also haunted by the ghost of other classic haunted house affairs such as the terrific British classic starring Deborah Kerr, THE INNOCENTS.

The story in brief: a woman and her husband, along with their adopted child, return to the old foreboding mansion (yeah!) where she grew up, with the intention of returning it to use as an orphanage. The young boy is ill and spends a little too much time with imaginary friends - except they might not be imaginary. And then he disappears.

To say much more than this is to risk spoiling your enjoyment. There are plenty of frights, both of the currently trendy "quiet... quiet... quiet... LOUD NOISE!" variety and also the more subtle moments of terror that you used to find in films like the aforementioned THE INNOCENTS. It's also dripping with atmosphere, well acted, beautifully shot and has a story that begins as a slowburner but builds to an extremely satisfying conclusion.

A refreshing change from a lot of the horror-by-numbers pap that is produced in Hollywood, EL ORFANATO is an intelligent and rewarding chiller that takes us back to the good old days and is already a frontrunner for one of my favourite films of 2008.