Belen Rueda plays the buyer of an orphanage who once lived there. (Submitted photo)

When was the last time you saw an honest-to-goodness, real old-school ghost story?

After watching "El Orphanto" ("The Orphanage"), I realized it had been quite a while for me.

Simultaneously retro and new-wave, this film is a breath of fresh air. Although it's spooky and atmospheric, don't call it a horror movie. There's very little gore to speak of (save for one scene), and there's such a child-like innocence to the film that you feel a little guilty for being scared.

The film centers on Laura (the luminous Belen Rueda), who as an adult buys the orphanage where she spent some of her formative years. Laura, her husband Carlos (Fernando Cayo), and her adopted (and HIV-positive) son Simon (Roger Princep) live in the orphanage.

Laura and Carlos are concerned about Simon's imaginary friends. And when he makes some new ones, Laura learns they may not be quite as imaginary as she thought.

Simon disappears, and a mysterious young boy in a sack mask starts appearing to her. As time passes, Laura grows more and more desperate. Soon, Laura is contacting a medium for spiritual assistance in locating her son.

The film is part haunted-house movie, part family drama, as Laura's obsession with finding Simon distances her from her husband, who doesn't believe that there are supernatural forces at work.

The film is produced by Guillermo Del Toro, who wrote and directed the striking and haunting "Pan's Labyrinth." "Orphanage" is similar in tone, though the fantasy element isn't as strong here.

A word of warning for subtitle-haters: The film is in Spanish and is subtitled. It is less intrusive than you might think, though, as the story is told well in visual form, and the characters aren't excessively chatty.

Rueda is wonderful, though, and the young Princep is impressive as well. His presence is felt even as he is missing, and his performance is touching.

The visuals are beautiful, and the picture as a whole is quiet, intimate and personal. As in any good ghost story, sound is used to great effect, but also here the absence of sound is a valuable tool for director Juan Antonio Bayona.

The mystery behind Simon's disappearance is layered and complex, and the way Laura's relationship unfolds with the ghosts who may or may not be in her house (and their role in Simon's disappearance) is graceful and almost lyrical in its innocence.

The final game between Laura and her apparitions is at times frightening, but is also childlike and even cute leading up to the film's resolution.

There is a bit of a plot hole at the end, and the script's attempt to explain it away, as clever a device as it is, isn't totally logical.

But if you want a fright, the darkened corners of "The Orphanage" are a great place to look.

Movie details:

In a word: Haunting.
Rated: R for some disturbing content.
Running time: 100 minutes.
Starring: Belen Rueda, Fernando Cayo.
Director: Juan Antonio Bayona.