X
- 2009
- R
- Warner Bros.
- 2 h 3 m
- 2009
- R
- Warner Bros.
- 2 h 3 m
Summary The tragic loss of their unborn child has devastated Kate and John, taking a toll on both their marriage and Kate's fragile psyche as she is plagued by nightmares and haunted by demons from her past. Struggling to regain some semblance of normalcy in their lives, the couple decides to adopt another child. At the local orphanage, both Joh...
Directed By: Jaume Collet-Serra
Written By: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Alex Mace
- 2009
- R
- Warner Bros.
- 2 h 3 m
- 2009
- R
- Warner Bros.
- 2 h 3 m
Orphan
42
8.7
Where to Watch
Summary The tragic loss of their unborn child has devastated Kate and John, taking a toll on both their marriage and Kate's fragile psyche as she is plagued by nightmares and haunted by demons from her past. Struggling to regain some semblance of normalcy in their lives, the couple decides to adopt another child. At the local orphanage, both Joh...
Directed By: Jaume Collet-Serra
Written By: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Alex Mace
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 25 Critic Reviews
42
28% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
44% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
28% Negative
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 25 Critic Reviews
42
28% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
44% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
28% Negative
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
You want a good horror film about a child from hell, you got one. Do not, under any circumstances, take children to see it. Take my word on this.
Furhman plays pure evil with such supreme calmness that only her eyes shine with madness. Indeed, all of the child actors are superb, especially the expressive Engineer.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 589 User Ratings
8.7
87% Positive
512 Ratings
512 Ratings
8% Mixed
49 Ratings
49 Ratings
5% Negative
28 Ratings
28 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 589 User Ratings
8.7
87% Positive
512 Ratings
512 Ratings
8% Mixed
49 Ratings
49 Ratings
5% Negative
28 Ratings
28 Ratings
Isabelle Fuhrman auditioned for the part of Esther while wearing an old-fashioned dress and ribbons around her wrists and neck.
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For the most part, Esther is an entertaining and solid addition to the Evil Child canon. There may be something wrong with Esther, but there's nothing terribly wrong with Orphan.
Clocking in at more than two hours, the movie teeters between psychological horror and violent blood-letting and, as such, probably won't completely satisfy fans in either camp.
There’s something creepy, and not pleasurably so, about watching children pantomime so much malice and fear.
Orphan isn't scary -- it's garish and plodding.
Depraved, worthless piece of filth.
[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
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Alright Alright Alright Alright Alright Alright Alright Alright Alright Alright
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It's a frustrating horror movie from 2009. You'd be surprised at who you'll be pissed off at in the movie. A couple has two children. The third child died at birth. The woman who already has 2 beautiful children wants to adopt a child to get into trouble. They see a girl in an orphanage and bring her home. The girl is abnormal in every way. This girl is giving this family a nightmare. The woman's husband is constantly protecting this girl against his wife. Horror and suspense elements are used well in the movie. If it is to be watched as a family, there are scenes with sexuality from time to time. The second movie was shot using many elements from this movie.
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I would've never thought that this movie would degenerate so much. Most of its second half is just immensely stupid and unbearably preposterous. While the beginning is suspenseful and seems to build up a good horror movie with a snowballing amount of frightening scenes, it just totally falls apart at the end. I could have lived with some of the absurd stuff happening in Orphan before, but at some point it was just enough. It decayed in illogical, dumbly disturbing action that wasn't enjoyable in any possible way. This is pretty disappointing regarding the way the movie started and continued during the first hour: it kept you interested about Esther, the screenplay introduced us better to the other parts of the family as well, the scenes that were supposed to scare you scared me. Everything like it should be in a good psychological horror. But when the grotesque truth about Esther is finally revealed, I was sitting there like “This is why I usually don't like horror movies.” It was a very unpleasant experience, not only because the extremely disturbing things the orphan girl is doing in this movie, but also because it leaves you sitting there, pondering about why you've ever took this movie seriously. Okay, Isabelle Fuhrmann did a surprising job as Esther although I didn't enjoy her that much since the screenplay wasn't really good and Vera Fermiga was a good lead, mostly. However, this ending just makes you angry because it totally destroys a movie that could've been good, but ends up being an imbecile disaster. Seriously, this ending was one of the worst I've seen in movie history.
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Orphan takes big and big leaps as it progresses. I should say "age" and not "progress" for it also makes less and less sense as it grows.
Orphan
And we meet again. The director Jaume Collet-Serra and I were just getting along and I came upon this project of his. Not to say, not to forget that I am not fascinated and mesmerized by his direction. But once again it is not him that is arrogantly high on the material it projects but the screenwriters David and Alex. They are proud and in love with the rabbit they have hidden under the hat. And I have seen people occasionally dish out the rabbit. But it is not just those final moments of the trick but the entire pitch of it.
There is no proper call of a judgement on what goes around in this house. Not haunted, not dysfunctional family and not the correctness or incorrectness of the judgement but the arrogance to stick by whether it is or not. Addition to that, the way each character is dealt with is also not profoundly dull but even insulting at times. For the difference between how these character and we are treated is nothing. There is no border between it.
With elaborative manipulative scenarios placed in narration with fast editing and loud background score and good performances we are told to get mad over and our feelings amped up strongly towards these odd characters. And we do. It gets hold of you and doesn't leave you easily. And I think it is not that the storyline is working. It is because we are vulnerable and out of control. We are told to observe, just observe, as the film and family collapse on the cheesiest and slippery floors with no ground or grip to hold onto any of its statements or theories. And we sit by and simply take it. Bravely take it all.
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Production Company
Dark Castle Entertainment,
Appian Way,
Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures,
StudioCanal,
DCP Orphan Productions,
Don Carmody Productions
Release Date Jul 24, 2009
Duration 2 h 3 m
Rating R
Tagline There's something wrong with Esther.
Awards
Fright Meter Awards
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
Teen Choice Awards
• 1 Nomination
Fangoria Chainsaw Awards
• 1 Nomination
