For Mother Russia!

Orphan (2009)

Directed By: Jaume Collet-Serra

Tagline: Can You Keep A Secret?

A family's foundation is rocked when the baby they are expecting dies in the womb. Distraught, the family decides to adopt a child, hoping to give the love they were prepared to share with their dead child to a child who is in need of it. They think they find the perfect child at a local orphanage. Esther is smart, kind, and very charming. Once she gets taken home, she immediately seems very different from other children. When a series of accidents begin, and Esther is always around when they happen, Esther's adoptive mother begins to dig into Esther's past. What she finds is a secret Esther has been hiding for years; A secret that Esther will do anything to keep hidden.

'Orphan' is one of those movies that will have you looking over at whoever you are watching it with saying "That's fucked up". Esther is one evil bitch. She hurts, manipulates, threatens, and even kills without ever thinking twice about it. She befriends instantly befriends her new little sister, Max, who is very young, impressionable, and deaf, making her an easy target. Esther forces Max to help her carry out evil deeds and threatens harm to Max and her family if she doesn't keep quiet. Vera Farmiga (Quid Pro Quo, Running Scared) plays a MILF, Kate, who has had her share of tragedies in the past. Weird things begin to happen while Esther is around, so Kate digs deep into Esther's past. What she finds is supposed to be the big twist that everyone has been talking about. It was just meh. I'm just glad it wasn't some supernatural cop out. If you know me, you know I hate CGI blood and gore. There was a little bit in this film but not enough to turn me off completely to the experience. Another thing that bugged me is that Esther's Russian accent seemed to get thicker and thicker as the movie went on? Was this intentionally done by the director or is this just inexperience on the young actresses part? Who knows. Overall, there was solid acting, great writing, some pretty tense moments, and a great climax to a pretty good movie. 'Orphan' gets a 7.5/10.