Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Starring: Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard & Isabelle Fuhrman
Not entirely successful as a horror, though including a few standard jumps, Orphan is far more enjoyable for the sheer ridiculousness of its twist and the unintentional moments of humour littered throughout.
The latest in the popular horror sub-genre of spooky child horror, Orphan comes to cinema screens with a plot that feels somewhat clichéd and attractive to genre fans who embrace such clichés and featuring a cast of actors usually involved in independent drama but results in a film that entertains quite well for reasons that seem in complete opposition to the film and director’s intentions.
After Kate (Farmiga) loses her third child who is born stillborn, she and her husband John (Sarsgaard), in their grief, decide to adopt a child with whom they can share the love they had prepared for their lost child. Upon making a connection with a 9 year old girl from Russia named Esther (Fuhrman) at an orphanage, they bring her home and whilst initially it appears she settles in well it soon becomes clear that Esther has problems, a vague past and a secret no one could have guessed but while Kate remains suspicious, her husband remains sceptical blaming Kate’s feelings on her grief and her past problems with alcoholism while Esther continues to become a greater danger to Kate, her two other children and others.
Whilst initially starting off quite effectively with a birthing room scene in the film’s prologue that succeeds in being genuinely disturbing, Orphan’s later commitment to treating its plot and characters seriously could either frustrate or unintentionally entertain audiences based on their sensibilities. Holding to many familiar clichés in the sub-genre of disturbed child horror films throughout the first half, Orphan is only moderately entertaining if you are comfortable with cliché. With independent film actors like Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard adding more credibility than what a genre film this usually deserves, the characterisation of the child Esther at least possesses some enjoyment through how obviously unstable she appears to be. But, approached as a serious horror film, which is what the director and actors appear to intend, Orphan develops into something far too surreal to be taken seriously and too seriously that a film filled with the cliché’s in the first half could hope to achieve (the amount of trust John places in Esther despite Kate’s objections certainly places him high amongst the most stupidest characters to ever grace a horror film). However, if taken with a sense of humour, one where the ridiculousness of the film’s finale and its twist can be seen as comical and where many of the attempts to make Esther appear threatening throughout the film treated as black humour, Orphan can be incredibly entertaining and that the humour is unintended helps make that same humour more enjoyable.
Even with actors like Farmiga and Sarsgaard, Orphan barely rises above average in terms of most of its actor’s performances. Sarsgaard’s performance is particularly frustrating given his abilities in past films are wasted on a role that requires him to be oblivious to the dangers presented by Esther throughout the film. Farmiga is more satisfactory as Kate, carrying the role of main protagonist quite well looking suitably distraught by the events she is experiencing. The most critical performance in the film though is Fuhrman’s in the role of Esther. Whilst playing the role with one of the most muddled attempts at an East-European accent in recent memory, Fuhrman at least manages to pull off the necessary amount of creepiness that her role as Esther requires and despite her character’s age, audiences will still find themselves invested in her character’s defeat and demise.
Overall, Orphan fails to be a scary horror film but if not taken too seriously, the film’s clichés, its unexpected and ridiculous finale and amusing moments of sudden violence and profanity throughout makes Orphan far more enjoyable than it deserves to be. That it succeeds more as a horror/black comedy unintentionally makes the film all the more enjoyable. Audiences looking for serious horror though may come away disappointed.
Rating: 3/5
