Analysis of Memory and Violence in the Horror Film 'The Orphanage'

This essay delves into the Spanish film 'The Orphanage,' analyzing its effective use of memory, violence, and the supernatural to create a chilling horror experience. It examines how the protagonist's return to her childhood orphanage unravels a past filled with tragic events and vengeful spirits. The essay highlights the psychological impact of suppressed memories and the cycle of violence that haunts the orphanage, emphasizing how these themes intertwine to evoke a sense of dread and unease. The analysis also considers the film's departure from typical horror tropes, focusing on the emotional depth and complex character relationships that contribute to its enduring impact.

Running head: THE ORPHANAGE
THE ORPHANAGE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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The concept of the making of the movies is one of the major aspects relating to the
development of the storyline to such a use that the ulterior motive behind the story is ultimately
fulfilled. The Orphanage/ El Orfanato is the movie which was the best foreign film genre entery
from Spain. The sheer beauty of the film along with the treatment of the theme is one of the
major reasons of the success of the film. The film beauty fully explores the theme of the horror
genre refuting all the stereotypes in its portrayal of the different aspects of the horrific notions
presented in the movie. There are number of different scenarios in the movie which are
highlighted in the overall presence of the ominous in a subtle but a horrific way. The film
highlights the passage of the family through the different problems they had to face in the overall
experience they had while renovating and living in a place which was of importance for the lady
of the family. The orphanage in its representation of the horrors in the past and the present
greatly help in the development of the plot which develops on exploring the causes of the
mishappenings of the place.
The different aspects of the movie that has been explored in the different aspects of the
horror and the situational aspects related to it. The situations in the movie that has been explored
takes into account the various situations relating to the different situations that are presented in
the movie. One of the important aspect that the movie explores is the theme of the memory
violence and the supernatural. The situations that led to the exploration of the different themes in
the movie is the situations that present themselves in the form of the violent and gory in the
movie. The movie revolves around the protagonist, who comes back to live in the orphanage
where she lived as a child. Her husband and she decide to make the place an orphanage to help
the specially abled children. One of the major aspects that is highlighted in the movie revolves
around the fact that the place has a emotional value for Lauren as the place where she was

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brought up as a child. The memory of Laura did not help her find the different issues that were
needed in the different situational aspects relating to the development of the psychological
scenarios in which the protagonist experiences the chsnges that the place had undergone. The
place had greatly changed and the nostalgia she feels for the place emphasizing her attachment to
the place is helped by the fact that she had her childhood. The incidents when they start taking
course have strong reminiscence of her child hood relating to the various situational scenarios
that have been done in the childhood such as the games that the ghosts of the children played
with her son Simon. The knowledge of Simon about his adoption gained from the ghosts also
highlight the theme of the memory in the movie.
The depiction of the supernatural in the movie greatly emphasize on the fact that the
introduction of the violence in the past has led to the introduction of something very grim in the
past of the place. The children who were haunting the place were from her past and she realizes
it much later after the disappearance of her son. The concept of memory is also shown in the
move in the way that she remembered the Way the children played the game of hide and seek in
the place when she needed to connect to them. The situations that affected her overall
comprehension was the fact that her own child was affected by her interpretation of the
situational scenarios in the society. There are number of scenes which shows the concept of the
memory in the movie where the children are trapped as the ghosts in the realm because of the
violent experience they had in their past. The depiction of Thomas as the boy whose head would
be covered in the mask. The relation of Simon to the apparition whom he related to as his
playmates. The children in the house were the ghosts of the children who had been killed by the
mother of Thomas who held the children responsible for the death of her children. One of the
important scenes in the movie that depicted extreme violence was the death of Thomas who was

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killed in his hiding place in the cave where he was hiding from the children from the orphanage
who were mocking him because of his distorted face.
The torment that Thomas underwent in the movie is grossly presented in the movie by the
fact that the children can sometimes be extremely tormenting and behavior of the children
towards lonely Thomas. The ostracism of the child is also violent in a different sense in the
organization. One of the major factors affecting the overall behavior of the children was the
children’s disgust for the distortion of Thomas’ face. One of the major violent scenes that is seen
in the movie is the crash scene in which the caretaker of the orphanage Benigna is killed. Her
death is one of the gory scenes in the movie where her death leads to the discovery of her actions
by Laura. The death of Benigna is one of the most gruesome scenes and her sudden action of
holding the hand of Laura after she was pronounced dead greatly shows the depiction of the
psychological initiation of the violence for the audience. There are a number of scenarios in the
movie which show the amount of the violence that the children have to go through at the hands
of Benigna who was killed. Agitated by the actions of the children which led to the untimely
demise of her child she killed them, burned them and hid their ashes in the coal shed. The death
of the children was helped by the poison which she put in the food. The sheer fact that she
blamed the children for the death of her son made her do deeds that were unfathomable. The
violence in the scenes of the movie was purely psychological. The mental trauma that Thomas
had to go through at the hands of his friends greatly affected his psyche but even in the film it is
seen that he meant no harm despite being an agitated spirit. The spirit of the child had nothing to
do with the actions of Benigna.
It was her who could not understand the implication of her actions and held the children
responsible for the death of her son. The concept of memory is also well presented in the movie.

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The attraction of Laura to the place of her childhood greatly affected the overall decisions of her
in the overall situations in the movie. On the other hand the different situations that are presented
in the movie are often the result of a number of accidents. The movie is quite different from the
rest of the movies of the horror genre, where the ghosts present their ulterior motives in the form
of super natural actions. Contrary to the usual depictions of the ghosts in the movies, the ghosts
in the movie are actually of the children who mean no harm to the children. One of the scenarios
that shows the painful conditions of the children are that they are bound in the world despite
being dead.
The concept of memory is also very well explored and depicted in the movie because of
the different references of the past actions of the individuals leading to the present. The theme of
memory explored in the movie is greatly affecting the overall representation of the montage of
the movie. The scenarios affecting the representation of the memory as a theme in the movie is
the situations that present themselves in the movie. The different situations in the movie uses the
theme of the memory and violence as the instigator of horror in the movie. The treatment of the
theme of horror in a psychoanalytical way instead of using the usual process of shocking the
audience works in the favor of the movie and it is a horror movie which has a strong influence on
the audience due its treatment of the theme of violence and memory. The transformation of the
lively place of the memory of Laura to the desolate place which was haunted by the ghosts of the
children who died there. There were a number of factors instigating the memories of Laura about
the place she so revered and it had now claimed the life of her son. The violence in the movie is
instigated by the memories and the memories in the movie are of the violence. The memories
and the violence in the movie are subtly used for the instilling of fear among the audience. The

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memories of the place are hindered by the depiction of the unknown is a passive way where
Laura is unable to relate to her companions among whom she lived in the orphanage.
The memory is also shown by the knowledge of Laura of the different games that were
played by the children. The process of the game and the finding of the different situations of the
past through the time and space in the continuum of the movie. The concept of the horror in the
movie is majorly introduced by the creation of a number of different situational scenarios
relating to the different experiences by Laura. The atmosphere and the overall representation of
the different figurative presences in the film help in the overall depiction of the horror and the
different scenes in the film depicting the various aesthetic and horrific presences in the movie.
One of the major scenes which, shows the presence of the supernatural in the film is aided by the
overall representations in the movie. There are a number of scenarios in the movie that have the
implication of the presence of something sinister in the environment.
The treatment of the theme of horror using the depiction of violence gore and painful
depiction of the pitiful scenarios makes the movie different than the movies of the general horror
genre. The theme of memory for the depiction of the disparity between the past and the present
has a very strong implication of the supernatural presence in the environment. The movie avoids
extreme distortions in its depiction of the different scenarios depicting the pain and the overall
plight of the children ghosts and their helplessness. The use of memory and violence in tandem
affects the overall representation of the theme of horror as the memories of the past show the
distortions in the present more clearly. Rather than the depiction of outright death the discovery
of the ashes in the coal shed was much more violent a scene depicting the half burnt carcasses of
the children hidden off in the different sacs. The memories play an important role in the scene
when the protagonist realizes that her discovery is of the children that her child played with. The

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representation of the different themes in the movies helped in the emphasizing of the theme of
the horror in the movie without going over the top in its representations. One of the major factors
helping in the overall development of the psychological representation of the themes relating to
the scenes creating an environment of horror in the movie is helped by the different aspects
relating to the overall situations. The treatment of theme of horror in the movie has an
implication of the usage of the environment and the psychological aspects and the tweaks of the
human mind in the overall development of the theme and the progress of the plot in the movie.
Therefore it is seen that the theme of memory and violence is treated with utmost
expertise to use the theme to develop the ideas in the movie for the overall development of the
horror theme in the movie. The horror theme in the movie uses the concept of the horror theme
for the development of various aesthetic themes in the movie. The idea of memory is likewise
extremely very much investigated and portrayed in the motion picture in view of the distinctive
references of the past activities of the people prompting the present. The subject of memory
investigated in the film is incredibly influencing the general portrayal of the montage of the
motion picture. The situations influencing the portrayal of the memory as a topic in the motion
picture is simply the circumstances that present in the motion picture. The distinctive
circumstances in the motion picture utilizes the subject of the memory and brutality as the
instigator of frightfulness in the film. The treatment of the subject of frightfulness
psychoanalytically as opposed to utilizing the standard procedure of stunning the gathering of
people works in the support of the motion picture and it is a blood and gore flick which affects
the crowd due its treatment of the topic of viciousness and memory. The film features the entry
of the family through the distinctive issues they needed to look in the general experience they
had while redesigning and living in a place which was of significance for the woman of the

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family. The halfway house in its portrayal of the revulsions before and the present enormously
help in the advancement of the plot which creates on investigating the reasons for the mis-
happenings of the place

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