Film Review: Orphan
Written by Steven McKay   
Tuesday, 26 January 2010 09:08
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Released in 2009, Orphan is a horror movie which tells the tale of the Coleman family, who adopt Esther – an eccentric, but charming, nine-year-old Russian girl – after the death of their unborn third child.
After managing to quickly become a part of the family, Esther's behaviour soon starts to become more erratic and confrontational, and when people close to the Coleman family start becoming involved in terrible accidents, the Coleman's soon start to suspect that there may be something very wrong with Esther.

Whilst the set-up may sound like classic horror, Orphan is far more of a psychological thriller than anything else; the movie doesn't try too hard to throw scares at you, but instead creates much of the movies tension and intrigue through Esther's antagonistic relationships with the other main characters, and in trying to coax you into figuring out Esther's mysterious past. As a result, if you watch Orphan expecting a horror film, you may be disappointed. However, the film makes for a much more interesting thriller, and one that will, by design, keep you guessing right up until the end.

It's in this ability to keep you guessing that the movie earned much of it's reputation when it released last year, and this is largely due to the movies you'll-never-guess-it twist ending. However, while most movies that usually make the same claim will try hard to confuse you with sheer spectacle or outrageous plot, Orphan thankfully keeps things relatively simple.

Another of the film's strengths is its casting, especially where the child actors are concerned. As much of the plot centres around the actions of the children, these actors have the potential to make or break the movie. Thankfully, Isabelle Fuhrman, who plays Esther, and Aryana Engineer, who plays the Coleman's deaf, youngest daughter Maxine, are both good in different ways; Isabelle Fuhrman as the quirky, scheming Esther, while Aryana Engineer is the vulnerable, innocent Maxine.
Unfortunately, the actor who plays the Coleman's son Daniel, Jimmy Bennett, isn't quite as good as the rest of the cast, though the character of Daniel receives the least screen time, so this isn't a major issue.

However, while the movie does a number of things fairly well, it rarely succeeds in getting your pulse racing. This is partly due to the fact that the movie tries to be both a horror movie, and a psychological thriller, and you sometimes get the feeling the movie itself is unsure as to which genre it actually belongs to. The result is a movie that tries to be both, but doesn't entirely succeed at either.
The film's twist ending also fails to truly excite, but for an entirely different reason; while the twist is inventive enough that you are unlikely to work it out, but still simple enough to not be absurd, it almost seems like it's a little bit too simple. You spend so much of the movies running time trying to work out what the end will be, that, when it finally shows you, you'll almost wish it was a little more outlandish. Almost.

As it stands, Orphan has its flaws, but is still an entertaining watch. If you like psychological thrillers, then you'll probably like this movie. By the same token, if you like to try and work out twist endings then this will also appeal to you – just don't be too disappointed if you don't manage to figure it out.
Comments (2)
onionsaregross
...
written by Russ Crandall, January 27, 2010
every time i try to talk to people about The Orphange they always think i'm talking about this movie. does it compare?
Steve McKay
...
written by Steve McKay, January 27, 2010
I wasn't a huge fan of The Orphanage so I would say that I probably prefer Orphan, but I guess it's personal preference

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