Movie Review: Orphan

credit: Orphan

Kids have a strange effect on horror movies, and in some cases, they become the type of villains that some people don’t see coming. Esther is one of those that brings up ideas of Damien and various other children that have been identified as holy terrors that are not to be trusted. Walking into this movie is rough, and for all soon-to-be mothers, it’s fair to say that it delivers a rough image that’s hard to shake. The image of a woman losing her child during childbirth is one that a lot of people might not be able to handle, and it gets fairly graphic but doesn’t go to a place that would scar people for life. Or maybe it does consider the era we’re living in. But the point is that the movie opens with Kate Coleman, played by Vera Farmiga, dreaming of a bloody mess that was meant to be her third child. Unfortunately, this child died in childbirth, and it’s been a noticeable scar that has affected her and her family. Of course, the movie’s point is to ensure that even a glimmer of hope can make things worse. 

 credit: Orphan

It’s evident that the Coleman family isn’t as sound as it could be. 

The troubles within the Coleman home are kind of obvious since there are issues that have yet to be resolved as the movie rolls on, but the beginning of the end for this family comes when Kate’s husband, John, happens upon Esther while the couple is visiting an orphanage. Esther appears to be a polite, pleasant young girl, and she takes well to the couple initially as they decide that she’s the one they want to take home to add to their family. Even upon inviting Esther into their home, things go well up until Esther is given reason to act out, which isn’t too hard since Max, Coleman’s youngest child, who is almost entirely deaf, likes Esther, and her older brother Danny does not. 

It doesn’t take long for Esther to hit her stride. 

Watching this movie, it almost felt as though each target was tagged and painted in neon colors to show what was going to happen. Esther’s short-lived with one of her new schoolmates ends badly when she shoves the other girl from the top of a slide, seriously injuring her. While Max knows what Esther is doing, she says nothing to her mother, not even when the nun that recommended Esther to Coleman’s winds up dead, another tally mark on Esther’s record. From that point, her attempt to push Kate out of the picture and worm her way into John’s confidence begins as her paintings are revealed to be far darker than what anyone can see, as the special paint she uses that can only be revealed with a blacklight, shows an orphanage burning. Scenes of mayhem and carnage would scare just about any seasoned psychologist. As Esther turns her attention to the family, things start getting even crazier. Her continual threats toward Max increase in intensity as the movie rolls along until it becomes too much for Max, who turns on Esther at one point and decides that she’s had enough. 

 credit: Orphan

By the time the end comes, the payoff is hard to see

It was a bit surprising to see that John didn’t make it to the end, but it was even more surprising that Danny was put in such obvious danger. The gaslighting that Esther managed to foist upon Kate was a standard element seen in horror movies quite often, and it worked quite well. Esther quickly became one of the evilest characters that have ever been seen in a horror movie, and in doing so, she managed to creep a lot of viewers out even if they didn’t want to admit it. A young girl who turns out to be a fully-grown human being with a strange hormonal problem that makes her appear to be a child is undoubtedly one of the creepiest ideas ever conceived. The ability to camouflage oneself in such a manner was a nice twist that’s made this movie one of the more memorable horror movies in the past couple of decades. 

By the end, it feels as though many people are going to be in favor of a sequel. 

With the way things ended there’s no doubt that people will want to see more of Esther, but how a sequel might come together is hard to say, considering that there are two survivors. They do know who Esther is, which means it could be a personal battle if these actors are allowed to return. But a sequel might be the next logical step, especially since a prequel has already come.