Best Mood to Walk In With: Ready to scream! ;)
Don't See This Movie If: You don't like to be scared
If you enjoy creepy horror movies, you will love The Orphan. Although it is not a fine film by any means, it fulfills exactly what it intends to do...to scare the crap out of you. Creepy children give me the willies anyway, but Esther one ups Macaulay Culkin in The Good Son, because she has a disturbing secret.
Overall, the script is so-so and the few jokes that are made are tasteless (there's one about a "snow orphan"). Additionally, the cinematography and editing are weird and you may notice several strange and unnecessary shots. However, you're not watching The Orphan for the humor or the camera work, you're seeing it for the anticipation and the fright, both of which are delivered beautifully. Specifically the playground scene was wonderfully executed. You know what is coming, but the movie teases you until you're more anxious than the little girl Esther is terrorizing.
It's truly the children actors that carry this movie. Isabelle Fuhrman as Esther is delightfully creepy and wicked, but I was most impressed by Aryana Engineer who plays the hearing impaired little sister Max. Her reactions to Esther are the most believable. Vera Farmiga plays the mother who is just completely over the top, but she is much more enjoyable to watch than Peter Sarsgaard's flat performance as the father. Additionally, I really hated how melodramatic the storyline was between the parents. The Orphan hits you over the head with the plot, then assumes you weren't paying attention and does it again. Subtlety and an unfolding story are forsaken for aggressive, immediate acknowledgment of the details.
Keep Your Eyes Closed For: Awkward sex scenes
Keep Your EARS Open For: The scene where the Mom tries to explain sex to Esther...the little girl's reaction is hilarious.
Overall, although The Orphan is not the most carefully executed movie, it delivers exactly what you want. In my opinion it is the best scary movie that has come out in the past 4 months at least.
Movies Are Life. ~ K
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