Do you ever get the yearning for a good old-fashioned ghost story—not one with blood and gore, just the kind that draws you into a world where life and death touch? If so, you’re ready for The Orphanage.

Years ago, Laura was one of the children at an orphanage on the coast. She was something of a leader among the children, but she left after being adopted. Now she has bought the old house and moved in with her husband Carlos and son Simon. Simon is adopted and HIV-positive. He knows neither fact. Laura plans to make this a place to care for sick children.

Consider the setting for a moment. Old house, abandoned lighthouse, caves in the seaside cliffs—all have the potential for horror. They all play a part in this story. But it really is much more about the things within us than it is about the things that might be hiding in scary places.

Not long after moving in, Simon has made an imaginary friend who shows him many things about the house and the caves. When in the midst of a big party, Simon comes up missing, Laura is beside herself. As days stretch on and on and on, her emotional state slowly disintegrates. Has he been kidnapped? Did he wander out into the sea? Is he lost in a cave? Or is there some malevolent force in this old house? And he needs his meds to stay well; will he be found before he becomes sick?

There are plenty of clues that lead in various directions. It is the kind of thriller that keeps you wondering which way the story will go—will they bring in the supernatural? Is it some outsider? Is Laura losing her mind? And what ever happened to those other children at the orphanage so long ago?

Many horror films rely on blood and gore or sudden surprises to scare us. The Orphanage has a few gotcha moments and just a touch of blood, but for the most part the horror in this film comes from the atmosphere and situation. The loss of a child—not knowing what has happened—is a frightening prospect. Slowly hope begins to fade. In time the viewer isn’t so concerned with finding the child as with what happened to him. For Laura, on the other hand, finding Simon is all that matters.

There are many secrets in this place. One by one they come to light, but each revealed secret leads to more questions. The puzzle never comes together until the final piece is put into place.

The Orphanage is a place between life and death. Maybe Simon’s disease makes it easier for him to see the connection between him and other children who have been here. Maybe there are needs in this place that the living can never know or fulfill.

The story of Peter Pan plays an important role in the story, especially as Simon wonders what it would be like if Wendy, after she went home and grew up, tried to return to Neverland. In a sense, Laura has left the Neverland of her childhood, but has now returned. Will she be able to understand the joy that was there, or only see the pain?

Life and death are in fact not opposites, but joined. At those intersections where they meet, we get to see the ways that each gives meaning to the other. And after we see those meanings, we may go out with a new experience of the life around us.