I was lucky enough to see one of the first ever screenings of this Spanish horror film last week during the Leeds' International Film Festival. The Orphanage is the first film from director Juan Antonio Bayona and was produced by his long-time friend Guillermo Del Toro, director of my film of last year, Pan's Labyrinth.<br /><br />The Orphanage tells the story of Laura who returns to the abandoned orphanage where she was raised in order to re-open it as a home for children with disabilities. Along with her husband and adopted son Simon who is HIV Positive, she prepares the orphanage to receive its new residents but all is not as it seems, and steadily the sins of the past begin to resurface through a series of ghostly happenings.<br /><br />A solid old-fashioned ghost story that is genuinely frightening without resorting to lashings of gore or cheap shocks, The Orphanage is the best horror film of 2007 so far and certainly shows Hollywood the true definition of suspense after the laughable '1408'. If you like your films dark and brimming with mystery then this is an absolute must-see.