Just like The Bad Seed, The Omen, and Joshua, The Orphan reminds us that children are creepy.
First off, I would like to stress that The Orphan plays more like a drama/thriller than a horror film. Kate (Vera Farmiga) and John Coleman (Peter Sarsgaard) are experiencing strains in their marriage after Kate’s third child – “Jessica” – was stillborn. The loss is particularly hard on Kate, who is still recovering from a drinking habit that cost her her job. As a coping mechanism she has scattered Jessica’s ashes in their garden around a white rose bush, with a plaque to remember her by. They adopt Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman), a 9-year-old Russian girl they had met, from the local orphanage. While Kate and John’s deaf-mute daughter Max (Aryana Engineer) embraces Esther almost immediately, their son Daniel (Jimmy Bennett) is less welcoming.
The Horror genre is really into the whole baby/children angle right now. With the recent release of films like Grace, Inside, and Pro-Life, The Orphan seems to fit in well. Overall The Orphan is a surprisingly well crafted thriller that manages to put a new spin on a classic horror theme. The acting is also a real draw, with wonderful performances from Farmiga and Fuhrman. Horror films have a tendency to be a little light in the performance department at times, but that is simply not the case with this film. If you are looking for a creepy and tense thriller, then The Orphan might be just what the doctor ordered.
Happy Halloween. – [DVD]
Drama/Horror/Thriller
Rated R
DVD Release Date: 10/27/09
And in case you missed it last week – click here to read Spook’s Halloween Movie Recommendations
[...] ORPHAN [...]
[...] ORPHAN [...]