A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend.
Laura, a former orphan, raises her adopted son Simón together with her husband Carlos in an old house and former orphanage where she was raised. While at the orphanage Simón tells Laura that he has five invisible friends which she believes are a product of his active imagination. Laura decides to reopen the orphanage to cater for disabled children and throws a party. During the party Simón tries to persuade Laura to go and take a look at his friends cabin but she's too busy. Later on she sees a mysterious masked boy and realizes that Simón has also disappeared. Laura feels the presence of other people in the house and months later Laura invites a team of parapsychologists to try to unravel the mystery.Written by
Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The orphanage was an old colonial house in the town of Llanes. As a lot of J.A. Bayona's cinematic plans were impossible to achieve on location, several parts of the house had to be recreated on a soundstage. In fact, over 80% of the film was shot in a studio. See more »
Goofs
In the film, we see the lighthouse shining directly on the orphanage. In reality, coastal lighthouses are shielded so their light does not shine on land. See more »
Quotes
Simón:
[from his room in the middle of the night]
Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Carlos:
[roused half-awake]
I'll go, it's my turn.
[falls right back to sleep]
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Crazy Credits
Pieces of wallpaper are peeled off to reveal each of the opening credits. See more »
I'm a little bit tired of horror and suspense films. I had to get to the cinema because I could not say no to my girlfriend. Now I do not regret the wonderful evening I spent. This film achieved what others did not- I could not release my girlfriend's hand all over the time, and when the story finished I discovered there was nothing unexplained. A great suspense film I recommend. Belén Rueda, is a completely credible character and the place where the story has been shot helps make it realistic or, at least, the viewer gets into the environment created. The rest of actors are good and Geraldine Chaplin's scene is one of the most creepy I've ever seen
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I'm a little bit tired of horror and suspense films. I had to get to the cinema because I could not say no to my girlfriend. Now I do not regret the wonderful evening I spent. This film achieved what others did not- I could not release my girlfriend's hand all over the time, and when the story finished I discovered there was nothing unexplained. A great suspense film I recommend. Belén Rueda, is a completely credible character and the place where the story has been shot helps make it realistic or, at least, the viewer gets into the environment created. The rest of actors are good and Geraldine Chaplin's scene is one of the most creepy I've ever seen