SYNOPSIS:
Tragedy seems to follow nine-year-old Esther. She was orphaned in her native Russia. Her last adoptive family perished in a fire Esther barely escaped. But now the Coleman family has adopted her, and life is good. Until a classmate takes a serious fall from a slide. Until an orphanage nun is battered to death. And until Esther's new mom wonders if that tragic fire was an accident.
From Dark Castle Productions comes ORPHAN, bringing stunning new twists to the psychological thriller and locking audiences in a tightening vise of mystery, suspicion and terror. You'll never forget Esther. So sweet. So intelligent. So creative. So disturbed.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Do we really need another horror movie that involves a demonic-looking kid? Apparently so, since Hollywood feels deign every few months to churn out a movie like “Orphan”. Here’s how it usually goes- kind loving couple takes in abandoned or orphaned child who looks every bit sweet and innocent, weird things start happening around the house that gets one parent suspicious but leaves the other skeptical, then it all goes to “shit” as the child reveals his/her evildoings.
The couple here is Kate (Vera Farmiga) and John Coleman (Peter Sarsgaard), who decide to adopt a 9-year-old Russian girl from an orphanage after Kate suffers a miscarriage. Kate and John are rebuilding their marriage after the death of their unborn child and Esther appears to be the antidote to their unraveling marriage. Not that they don’t already have kids- there’s the adolescent boy Daniel and younger daughter Max.
Needless to say, strange things start happening after Esther joins their family. A child who once made fun of Esther at school falls off a playground slide. A nun at the orphanage where Esther was adopted disappears before she gets to inform the Colemans of Esther’s dubious origins. Esther is prone to extreme temper tantrums where she screams at the top of her voice. Mom, Daniel and Max sense there is something eerie about her; but Dad doesn’t think so.
Yes, it does go to “shit” after this- but despite its predictability, “Orphan” turns to be quite the effective chiller. Or thriller, to be precise. Though it’s marketed as a horror movie, “Orphan” really belongs more to the latter genre. What scares the movie has are mere sudden ‘boos’- thanks to some manipulative sound design- and there is no supernatural evil to be found here. Instead, director Jaume Collet-Serra succeeds at sustaining a palpable sense of tension throughout the movie, keeping his audience on tenterhooks guessing what Esther’s next devious plot may be.
Indeed, the movie is surprisingly realistic as it steers clear of anything to do with Satan, the devil or any such paranormal activity. Rather, by the time its big reveal comes along, “Orphan” actually makes a lot more sense than you would expect. Audiences who have seen a certain Aaron Kwok movie this year may discover some similarities with that plot device, but rest assured that “Orphan” handles that final twist with a great deal more finesse than the former could muster.
A large part of why the movie works is because of its breakout star Isabelle Fuhrman. Her performance is nothing short of spine-tingling- and it is certainly spine-tinglingly brilliant. From the very first time she appears, Fuhrman commands the screen with her big eyes, pursed lips and deliberate poise. Because she seems so positively diabolical, you can feel something sinister about to happen every time she’s onscreen.
Of course, it’s easy to dismiss “Orphan” as another exercise in horror conventions, but beyond the obvious, it is one of the best “demonic child” movies ever made. It certainly possesses the tension, the atmosphere and the buildup of the best, even though its climax may not be to everyone’s liking. But you’ll enjoy the unnerving ride throughout, and “Orphan” is I dare say one of the best thrillers of the year.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
There are only 3 deleted scenes and an alternate ending on this Code 3 DVD. The alternate ending is especially creepy and serves as good closure how terrifying Fuhrman was in the movie.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track builds a genuinely creepy atmosphere of dread and tension throughout the movie, and the surround effects are particularly strong during the film’s action sequences. Visual transfer is also very good, and the picture is always well-contrasted whether in the bright snow-covered outdoors or the dim interiors of the house.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Gabriel Chong
Posted on 2 January 2010
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