'Orphan' (2009) Review

     For the fourth film of my marathon, I viewed ‘Orphan’, a horror movie released in 2009 that had terrified me as a child. This film was very highly marketed, I still remember posters were up everywhere from movie theaters to local restaurants. Seeing another little girl being portrayed in that lighting while looking so menacing gave me nightmares without even seeing a trailer. Finally, being 20 years old and 12 years later, I sat down to watch it for the first time. 

‘Orphan’ focuses on a family dealing with the loss of a child. In an impulsive need to get rid of these depressive emotions, they decide to turn to adoption. It doesn't take long for the mother to realize that they didn't exactly get the child they thought they did when strange occurrences keep happening around Esther, the adopted child. ‘‘Orphan’ brings to light some fears (although this twist is definitely a stretch of some sort) that come along with bringing in an older child to your home. Villainizing something such as adoption is a very risky move and could be almost offensive if done to a certain degree. While I don’t think this film would hold back any parent interested in adoption from doing so, a simple google search would tell you otherwise. Dozens of articles from parents and orphans show how a movie like this can cause more harm than good. While I would agree with this for the first half of the film, that ending kinda killed any realistic value it was presenting. This film received praise for bringing something new to the table, but it's worth a look into the controversy that came along with it to understand how you can’t base real life decisions based off a movie that received a 42% Metacritic score.

 ‘Orphan’ also touched ground on topics most mainstream slasher films rarely see. Disabilities, pedophilia and underlying themes of infidelity are brought to add tension to an already dying relationship between the two parents. The wife played by Vera Farmiga, one of the most recognizable horror movie faces of our recent decade, did a fantastic job carrying the film on her back. The other performances by the adult actors were frustrating to say the least. The husband was played by Peter Sarsgaard, while there was nothing wrong with his acting, the writing of his character was unbelievably annoying. Not the type of annoying where it gave a character arc, but the kind that was just unrealistic and unnecessary. As for Esther, the evil adopted child, this character has became a horror icon and was portrayed excellently by Isabelle Furman. It will be interesting to see what direction she takes the character in the upcoming sequel coming out in 2022. 

    If you enjoy movies like Anabelle, Pet Sematary or The Omen, then I would recommend this film for you. I had a great time watching this movie because it was different from a lot of horror movies I had seen before, and anything with Vera Farmiga I usually tend to enjoy (please watch Bates Motel on Netflix if you haven't yet). I would rate this film at 3.5 out of 5 for me because even with its controversy, it kept you on the edge of your seat the whole ride.