Orphan: The Review

Written by Steven Beach

Let’s face it, horror films have been struggling lately. The good news, despite their struggle, horror films will never truly fade into oblivion. The bad news, we have to continue to put up with a slew of bad horror films constantly flooding the market. What makes the bad news worse is that those bad movies can still make a profit. The horror community needs something to cling to, so, despite this crap being jammed down our throats, we take it willingly, giving the studios and filmmakers money, showing them that there is an audience, which allows them to think it’s ok to keep the crap machine pumping. But despite the crap, from time to time a gem will pop through. This brings us to this review of Orphan.

Orphan, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, and written by David Johnson (Screenplay) and Alex Mace (Story), can be viewed as a typical horror movie story archetype. Mom and Pop decide to adopt a child, but the child they adopted may be inherently “evil” and constantly be in a “stabby stabby” sort of mood.

The film opens with a bizarre and disturbingly effective nightmare sequence that involves a very pregnant Kate Coleman (Vera Farmiga) who is in labor and her husband John Coleman (Peter Sarsgaard) entering a hospital that contains a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere. But what should be a joyous occasion turns chaotic when Kate starts leaking blood and eventually gives birth to a stillborn baby. Although a nightmare, it was manifested from an actual event.

Ready to fill the void, Kate and John decide they’re ready to add a new addition to the family and adopt. At the orphanage, the couple encounters Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman) painting in a room by herself, away from the other children. Low and behold, Kate and John form a connection and think she’s the one. Kate and John’s other two children Daniel (Jimmy Bennett) and Max (Aryana Engineer), Max being deaf due to a tragic accident involving the fishing pond out back, displays mixed receptions towards Esther. Daniel thinks Esther is strange, from the ribbons she constantly wears around her wrists and neck, and her outdated sense of fashion; one way or another she just gives him a bad vibe. While Max, young and impressionistic, forms a fond relationship with her new sister, a relationship that will eventually turn to a bond of fear as Max becomes an unwilling partner in crime.

From here, the movie takes off at a steady pace building suspense. As “accidents” that endanger the lives of Daniel and Max start to happen, Kate slowly starts to realize that there’s more to Esther than meets the eye. Esther is hiding something and she is willing to go to great lengths to keep it hidden, even if it means breaking her own arm. This eventually leads up to the twist of the film, which the whole story hinges on in order to be successful. If enough attention is paid, the twist of the film is planted throughout the beginning of the story through bits of Esther’s dialogue. Is the twist really worth it? Some people will find it to be cheap or predictable and write it off, but for most others, it will be satisfactory enough. After the big reveal happens, the film takes a very different tone and becomes a stalker/slasher flick until the somewhat bloody end.

A common gripe you’ll hear from people who have seen this film is that it’s “too predictable”. Since it follows a common archetype, yeah, it will be a bit easy to guess what's next, but just because it’s predictable does not condemn it to being bad. Orphan, though predictable, is a slightly above average film, especially considering the current horror market. This film is a breath of slightly fresh air, opposed to the rotting stench of death we’re used to. The acting is well done and barely over the top as is seen in most horror films. Isabelle Fuhrman, the young girl who plays Esther, does a remarkable job playing a creepy “I’m going to kill you” child and then switching gears swiftly to adapt to the change of the story near the end. Of course I’m always willing to give a movie props when they successfully have a consistent tone to their film and then switch it, taking it another direction, and explore new areas.

Most people don’t take the time to check the IMDB credits to see who’s responsible for helping make films. In Orphan’s case, most people don’t realize that the director has very few credits to his name, namely the remake of House of Wax. Then there are the writers, well, it’s their first published script, and this is what we got. I’m sorry, but that says something. For a first time gig, I’d say they did a very good job to at least give us a pretty decent horror flick.

The film isn’t perfect, but it’s bloody, creepy and can make you cringe from time to time. Should you see this film? If you like horror, yes. If not, you’ll still probably find it enjoyable. One way or another, it deserves your attention for at least one viewing.