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Unnecessary Orphanage Remake Finally Lands New Director

by Ethan Anderton
January 4, 2010

Now that it's 2010, we're going to have to reach way back into November of 2009 to recall when ex-director Larry Fessenden said he was no longer involved in the remake of the Spanish language film El Orfanato (aka The Orphanage). After some unresolved disagreements (presumably with the studio) over casting, the project was left without a director to helm the script which was also written by Larry Fessenden & Guillermo Del Toro (who served as creative supervisor on the original 2007 film). Now Variety reports that director Mark Pellington (whose previous credits include The Mothman Prophecies) will step up to direct.

If you haven't seen the original Juan Antonio Bayona film, it follows a woman who takes over the orphanage where she was raised to open a home for disabled children. However, she's unnerved when her son begins to play with the same imaginary friend who terrorized also her when she was a child. Pellington has previously proven his decent grasp on suspense and thrills in his direction of Arlington Road but it's The Mothman Prophecies that let him shine in its creepy mystery which, although it contained ominous supernatural elements, the film remained quite grounded. And that's exactly what needs to be done with the remake. Although El Orfanato is definitely supernatural, the spooks aren't cheap like much of the recent horror fare.

More recently Pellington has stepped away from that arena to direct two projects on completely different ends of the spectrum: the quirky indie dramedy Henry Poole Is Here that starred Luke Wilson, and the big IMAX concert flick U2 3D. After stepping away from suspenseful thrillers, I still hope that Pellington has the touch of hair-raising suspense and can actually make this unnecessary remake feel fresh. How will he do?

Explore tags: Movie News, Opinions

Dirty Dutchman

Too soon... this remake is completely unnecessary. Perhaps in 10+ years it would be more appropriate, but the only chance this English speaking remake has is if they copy it completely and market the hell out of this film.
LifeLiquid

One of the dumbest remakes ideas of all time
Madnezz344

Word to the people "BOYCOTT THIS REMAKE" this film is not worth a remake
TediusTed

I remember the trailer for the first one, soon as I saw that kid with that sack mask on I lost it! lol!
tobi,leader of the akatsuki

why oh why do they have to remake every fucking spanish or japanese horror,ain't the originals any good anymore or is just for lazy fuckers who can't be bothered read subtitles,leave these films alone they are great the way they are.
Gill

Man, talk about lame. First a "Let the Right One In" remake barely a year after the original was released, then a "Death At A Funeral" remake only two years after the original, and now a remake of "The Orphanage" only a couple of years after the original. Hollywood's well of ideas is clearly running dry.
rowdy

loved the orphanage alot a real rarity in horrer films and pellington deffinatly knows how to make this kind of movie with the same effect but it would be so hard to sit through a remake without criticing every little thing
jimmey

I have an idea.. stop remaking everything you pathetic, uncreative, money grubbing whores!!!!
http://sylviahubbard.com Sylvia Hubbard the author

I personally loved the film and don't think another remake needed to be made. It's not the movie faults people just didn't want to read the subtitles. i loved it. don't make it again.
T

#6, #8 My thoughts exactly
drunkimus

Quarantine and REC
Fuelbot

I was completely against this until I saw the name Mark Pellington. If you're doubting him for this remake, please go back and watch Arlington Road or The Mothman Prophecies. Pellington is a master of atmosphere and I think he'll definitely bring all that to the table. He's the one guy who can legitimately make a PG-13 movie terrifying.
http://cov3rup.blogspot.com/ dex

OMG...who in the right mind would act, direct and finance this project?? Its beyond me. I'd rather slit my wrist than see this remake.
Daniel

What's next? Remake of Pan's Labyrinth? Star Wras? Harry Potter? When will it end?
yh

I just saw the preview for the remake of "Death at a Funeral" and all I can say is that switching the cast from white to black does not make the movie any better, nor does it make it any more relateable for me, the American audience (if indeed that was the goal). The original was a good chuckle (and at times very very funny), but you know what... that already made its rounds in the states. Why do we need to see another version of the same movie?
Xerxex

yh, I concur, this project is kinda useless, yeah Mark Pellington did Mothman and it was good, but why can't he do something else?
Said

alright someone needs to mail a letter to hollywood about how this is a bad idea.... make sure it includes a lot a verbal language you ever wonder about if they make a remake of a old classic movie ( like nightmare on elm street) kids this generation will think that everything was made in their time... thats what pisses me off the most!
Said

even worse they dont give credit to the foriegn films! i was born 1994, but my parents showed me movies from the 70's - 80's