Orphan (Jaume Collet-Serra, 2009)

[puxzkkx]

Certainly wins the 'Exceeds Expectations' award from me this year. What looks like a B-grade horror/thriller is actually a really well-done, refreshingly tongue-in-cheek take on the genre. Of course, working within the genre's limits makes it not as good as it could have been, but it showcases a real directorial talent - one whom I'd be very interested to see making a foray into drama, comedy or non-horror thriller.

Collet-Serra does some very interesting tricks with tone - striking a balance between B-movie schlock, comedy and some touching human drama. He manages to turn many of the genre's tropes on their head while simultaneously working them into the plot. He's a good actors' director, too - the film is incredibly well-acted for a horror flick. Isabelle Fuhrman has an intensity and a knowing glint in her eye that aren't common for actors her age. She understands how to make this character scary, and she does so. Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard are also great, especially the former who makes her character's suffering (both internal and external) perfectly plausible and navigates character shifts like a pro. I found myself wanting her back on screen almost every time the camera left her. The support cast and the kid actors are all perfectly cast, and I was especially impressed by Aryana Engineer (who is deaf in real life), who played the younger sister. Crisp lensing, some original sound design, good use of tension and great scripting are the icing on the cake. My grade, from F to A+, is a B-.

I think that if Drag Me to Hell can get praise from hardcore cineastes, this film deserves it too! Let us know what you think.

[newginafets]

I agree.

it exceeded my expectation as well. With the story seemingly a copy-paste from some previous films like Joshua, The Omen, etc.. it actually came out somewhat different.
it's not demonic-influenced film, it's just Esther alone, a human. With twisted story.

[mfunk9786]

I agree to a point. I definitely enjoyed this film more than I expected to (though considering the caliber of actors attached to the project, I figured it'd be a The Ring situation where this film would end up better than it should be) - but I felt that the final few minutes dragged the film down from something very interesting and disturbing to something overly schlocky. There's no inherent problem with the twist, but the way it's delivered is cliched (

SpoilerShow

on the phone with the doctor at the last moment, etc

) and suddenly the film becomes a pretty standard run and hide and chase affair, without all the masterful menace of Cape Fear or Straw Dogs or The Shining once these films enter their final moments. Not that I'm asking Orphan to be any of those things... but it would have been nice to see things gel a bit better. I liked it though, and after Drag Me to Hell, as you mentioned, I'm hoping the trend is veering away from J-horror remakes towards unflinching, over-the-top scarefests - it certainly makes for a more enjoyable time at the movies than a film about a killer cell phone or computer or toaster oven.

[Cosmic Bus]

I agree with most of puxzkkx's comments, and regarding the film's twist, I actually went into it knowing the entire plot and ended up enjoying it moreso because of this. It's an absolute hoot to watch, rather well-handled in most respects and probably my favorite major movie from this summer.

[puxzkkx]

I went in knowing the entire plot as well. I'm still impressed by the way Isabelle Fuhrman built this character before we really knew who (or what) the character was.

[brendanjc]

I'm surprised to see some admiration for this film, mostly because I've only seen it get trashed by critics and horror-fans alike pretty much everywhere else. It makes me eager to see it even though I, too, had the twist spoiled for me already. Someone else mentioned Joshua which is a film that I really liked and think was terribly overlooked. If this is even half as good as that was it'd be worth my time, but it's hard for me to understand why Vera Farmiga chose to play another tortured mother of a creepy child, which is what turned me off from seeing this initially.