Starts off well, falters spectacularly at the end.

Rating: 4/10 (29 March 2011)

"I don't think Mommy likes me very much."
I know the "evil child" movie has been done to death, but that doesn't mean that another one worth watching doesn't come along on occasion. I thought Orphan was going to to be one of those worthwhile flicks...until the last act.
A family with a troubled past that's only recently managed to move past a tragic miscarriage decides to welcome a new child named Esther into their home. Esther initially seems like a bright, lovely nine-year-old, but soon troubling events make the mother (Vera Farmiga) and Esther's two new siblings suspicious of the girl. And for good reason. Esther has plans for her new family, and deadly things happen when her plans are threatened.
Isabelle Fuhrman is perfect as Esther, whether she's being adorably charming, or completely sociopathic. This kind of movie succeeds or fails based on whether the characters involved draw you into the story, or make you laugh at the absurdity of the premise. Largely because of young Isabella, Orphan fell into the later category for me.
Up until the ending, that is. I'll be honest, I though the finale was outright terrible. The word "inexplicable" comes to mind. It really hurt a movie that up to that point was fairly good. I guess the silly twist was made in order to make Orphan more believable, but it achieved the exact opposite effect.
It's not really a horror movie, so don't expect lots of chills. But as a pretty dark thriller, Orphan works for its first hundred minutes. The twisty (and unnecessary) shenanigans near the end, though, hurt the movie a lot. It's been a while since my opinion of a film nosedived so quickly while I was watching it. Disappointing.