Orphan

Review By: Tom Herrmann
TomHerrmann@TheCinemaSource.com

Movie Grade: A-

Every decade has a few select horror films that define that era within the genre. The thirties had monsters, the fifties had sci-fi, the eighties had slashers, and the nineties had the teen drama parodies of previous decade staples. It’s hard to say what this decade will be remembered for as far as both style and films are concerned since it isn’t quite over yet, but the most logical guess would be the torture genre with films like Orphan in the leading ranks of the bunch. It might seem like a bold statement, especially to start with, but Orphan is without a doubt one of this decades greatest horror films.

Kate (Vera Farminga) and John (Peter Sarsgaard) have been experiencing problems after facing the tragic loss of their daughter Jess who was stillborn among other personal issues. In an effort to not take the loss of their child in vain the couple decided to adopt a new child so that they could love a child who truly needs it. It’s just too bad that Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman), the girl they decided to bring home is hiding an unruly psychopath and ingenious manipulator beneath her prim and proper facade. Soon Kate finds herself being the only one who can keep Esther from getting to her or her family.

As soon as the film starts we are tossed right into an extremely bizarre and unsettling scene that had the entire theater cringing, only to follow it up with about a half hour of development. It is a surprise that this formula isn‘t used more often; start the film with a big scare and then hold off to let the audience get to know the characters and their situations. If you care about the character than the horrific things that happen to them will be that much worse, but the frightening opener gives a tastes of what is lying ahead.

It’s hard to explain just how invested in this movie everyone seemed to be, myself included. Even harder to explain would be exactly how it made everyone feel such an array of emotions. There were parts that were sad, humorous, suspenseful, disgusting, and terrifying and I felt all of it. Every step of the way, with every manipulation or crazed act by Esther, or every attempt to stop it by Kate; it was as if these were real people that I knew and cared about.

This all comes from the great directing style of the film that really had me surprised. After seeing more horror movies than most people know exist, I have learned to be able to predict the way scenes will unfold but this altered the average horror conventions, making the scare scenes less predictable and much more suspenseful due to the uncertainty. The editing is also notable due to the use of normal sounds at high volume over quiet scenes to get some cheap scares in during the slow points and one particular scene ...