By Andy Kozlowski

Contributing Reporter

In recent years horror films have skewed in favor of torture-porn like “Saw” and “Hostel,” films that revel in bloody sadism and leave little to the imagination.

The horror in vogue with today’s theatergoer sacrifices human empathy for gory spectacle, and thought for senseless slaughter.

Fortunately, there are exceptions like “The Orphanage.”

Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona and written by Sergio G. Sánchez, both first-timers, and presented by horror maestro Guillermo del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth”), this Spanish-language ghost story is a superb, thought-provoking thriller.

Set in a manor by the sea, where a lighthouse keeps vigil over a cove-riddled beach, “The Orphanage” tells the tale of Laura (Belén Rueda), a woman who returns to the orphanage she loved as a child. She now has a husband, Carlos (Fernando Cayo) and a young son, Simón (Roger Príncep). Together, they plan to transform the long-abandoned home into a sanctuary for sick children.

Then the dread creeps in.

A shady social worker shows up and snoops around the estate. Simón’s circle of imaginary friends grows to include children resembling orphans Laura grew up with and one, the burlap-masked Tomàs, she did not.

By bizarre circumstance Simón learns he’s adopted and HIV-positive, revelations that devastate him.

When Simón disappears at the home’s grand opening party, his parents embark on a desperate search for their son, knowing he won’t live long without medication.

From there things get truly weird, but to tell more would be criminal. Suffice it to say,

Laura’s childhood home is full of dark secrets, and strange things are afoot.      

At heart, “The Orphanage” is a tale of motherly love and the pain of separation. And unlike its horror contemporaries, the film scares by implication and sleight of hand rather than a bombardment of brutal imagery.

The movie uses every trope in the genre playbook, from creepy children to psychic mediums but stays fresh by inverting them in unexpected ways.

Add to the mix sympathetic characters and excruciating suspense, along with some

unforgettable jump-scares, and you have one creepy cocktail.

“The Orphanage” won’t scar you with gore, but its beauty and brains will haunt you.