ORPHAN - REVIEW
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Orphan
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman, CCH Pounder
Rating: 4/5
This reviewer is not a fan of the Horror genre. The last effort I saw was the underwhelming and humourous Drag Me To Hell. I went into Orphan with much the same expectations. I was tremendously surprised.
Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Famiga play doting parents to a deaf daughter and a young adventurous son. They lost a third child at birth and have harboured that pain for a long time. They both have their own demons and a few crosses to bare but their children are their life and they will do anything for them.
That love for children and the want to transfer the warmth from the one they lost to someone that needed it, lead them to adopt.
Esther is a Russian Doll who paints like a professional and keeps to herself. Doting parents Kate and John quickly bond with Esther and she is chosen to join their family.
Esther and new siblings Daniel and Maxine bond with each other, though Daniel has some trepidation having another girl in the house. Max loved having an older sister to play with.
Everything is going according to plan for the Coleman family and Kate is slowly coming to terms with her inner struggle and past loss.
Then the story takes a turn for the worse. Esther runs into trouble playing with other children, starts fighting with her brother and sister and the mother -adopted daughter bond turns overly sour.
Director Jaume Colett-Serra with "orphan
Direcor Collet-Serra has a flop in his past, The woeful House of Wax with "Paris" though he has redeemed himself here. There is great craftsmanship at work here and writer David Johnson has a lot to be praised for. The "twist" that elevates this film above the norm is a clanger and one I don't believe has been seen before, not at least in modern cinema.
Sarsgaard was another troubling factor. Although his can pull off the parent persona there was something about him I just didn't take to. I think it was also the case in th aforementioned Rendition. It's either the voice, the eyes or both. I just can't relate or feel compassion for his character here.
The slashing is extreme and confronting and not totally over the top. It is certainly gripping and there are one or two moments where you think are the really going to do that?
The foreign aspect of this story with our spawn of evil coming from Eastern Europe is a nice touch and though Sarsgaard was last seen in Rendition with Reese Withersoon all cast members are somewhat unknown which serves well to draw this reviewer into the thick of things.
There's something about children and horror films that marry well on screen and Orphan is one such example. If Collet-Serra maintains this standard in the horror genre and writer Johnson keeps churning out originality like this, we may have ourselves a tag team worth sitting on the edge of our seat for.
Critic Roger Ebert rated this 3.5/5
Rotten Tomatos.com rated this at 55/100
How would you rate it? Tell us below...
Health 2 Know
Adventure Toes
boxing sound
Business Rope
Fun Places 2 Travel
So, my final rate for this film is 5 out of 10 stars!
Rat Chat
Thanks for stopping by Wilson. Please keep coming back.
Happy Watching-CR.