House of Voices

This film is essentially the French's answer to The Devil's Backbone by Guillermo del Toro. Set in the backdrop of a relatively abandoned orphanage in the French Alps, we follow our lead Anna, as she starts work as the new cleaning lady. With only a couple staff members, and a strange young woman who grew up there as a child, the building is perfect for witnessing oddly-shaped shadowy figures and hearing strange creeks and voices in the night. Yes, Anna soon discovers that this orphanage houses a dark past; a dark past that Anna is sure to discover. This is the feature film debut of director Pascal Laugier, and so far, I like what he puts on the table. Cinematically the shots are beautiful, and it has just the right amount of creepy atmosphere.

Though, ultimately the film suffers from an identity crises towards the end when more is revealed. From the initial viewing I expected this to be just another flick about a haunted orphanage, but the story actually leads us to another direction towards the end. This is also the point when things get a little ridiculous and the atmosphere and pacing seems to shift in a different direction. Either way, the movie (and lead actress Virginie Ledoyen) is a pleasure to watch, which makes what unfolds a little more bearable. In the end, the movie falls under your standard straight-to-DVD ghost tale, with slightly higher production values.

OVERALL

A decent rent, but don't expect a lot of scares. Visually and atmosphere-wise, it worked, but the story had problems.

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