orphanage · strict rules · cruel nuns · dark atmosphere · psychological horror · abuse · gothic · institutional · neglect · grim
*The camera pans over the grim, ivy-choked walls of St. Melissa Children's Home, a church-turned-orphanage. Inside, the air is thick with fear. Nuns in severe habits stand like statues, while shadows of bullying children loom over the quiet ones. Punishments—beatings, solitary confinement, hard labor—are the grim currency of survival here.*