ABC Film Challenge – 2000s Movies – O – Orphan – Movie Review
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra (Jungle Cruise, The Shallows, Unknown)
Writer: Davide Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (Screenplay)
Writer: Alex Mace (Story)
Cast
- Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring)
- Peter Sarsgaard (The Batman)
- Isabelle Fuhrman (The Hunger Games)
- CCH Pounder (Avatar)
- Jimmy Bennett (Star Trek)
Plot: A husband and wife who recently lost their baby adopt a 9-year-old girl who is not nearly as innocent as she appears.
Runtime: 2 Hours 3 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Orphan starts as Kate (Farmiga) and John (Sarsgaard) lose their third child at childbirth. The couple has two other children Daniel (Bennett) and Max (Engineer), but they still long to include a third child. Despite Kate having daily struggles with loss, they decide to adopt a third child.
The couple adopts Esther (Fuhrman) a Russian orphan with a traditional look. Although not everything goes as smoothly with the transition. Esther starts showing dark motives around the children and pushing herself between the parents. But the true horrors of Esther are waiting for the parents to deal with.
Verdict on Orphan
Orphan is a horror mystery that sees a family open their doors to an orphan. They learn the orphan has a darker side after a string of incidents happen around her. But as a broken family they must deal with problems they are facing that cause tension between the family.
In what is a very interesting twist on a horror story, that we have seen in previous other films like the Omen. This shows the evil in a child that gets welcomed into a family. Most importantly this shows how a family have been torn about by previous problems that will haunt them for years.
Esther is easily one of the best villains in a horror movie, one that can come off so innocent in one look and twisted in the next. Despite the young age of the actress playing her Isabelle Fuhrman, it is one of the most terrifying performances. Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Jimmy Bennett and Aryana Engineer are all fantastic too, with the correct cast of a deaf actress in Engineer for the deaf character.
Orphan will always be remembered for the reveal as it is one that you will never see coming and one you will never forget.
Where to Watch: Orphan is available to stream on Sky in the UK.
Final Thoughts – Orphan is a terrifying horror with one of the best modern villains in horror.