It’s inevitable that whenever a foreign language horror movie gets even remote praise outside its home country, Hollywood signs up to do a remake, so it’s little surprise that New Line is working on an English-language version of the creepy Mexican movie, The Orphanage.
The do-over has now got a director, with producer Guillermo Del Toro handpicking Larry Fessender to helm the new version. Although Fessender isn’t exactly a household name, he has had some success with low-budget horror flicks (he’s also an actor who’s appeared in the likes of Bringing Out The Dead, Session 9, and The Brave One), with Del Toro feeling he has the requisite skills to bring Juan Antonio Bayona’s creepy vision to a wider audience.
All we can say is that they’d better not screw it up, as the original 2007 flick is a masterclass in the unsettling. In case you haven’t see it, it’s about a woman called Laura who decides to reopen the orphanage she grew up in, only for all sorts of strange things to start happening after her son announces that he has new invisible friends. Although most Hollywood reamkes are rubbish, Del Toro, who also produced the original, is usually trustworthy and hopefully his guiding hand will ensure this one succeeds.