Finally, an American movie that's worth bragging about.

Rating: Null/10 (20 January 2012)

I wanted to pay to see Orphan but when I finally found time to see it, it was already pulled from theaters or was playing in theaters that were too far away from me. I just had a feeling this would be a good movie and it was. And it would have been worth paying for too. I liked every single thing about it except for the climax. It was way too 80's horror movie style, gotta have a one-liner to end things type deal. I didn't like it. It didn't fit the suspense of the rest of the movie. The title character was totally out of character in that final scene. I was disappointed with it.
The movie poster, tag line, dialogue, acting, plot, exposition, cinematography, camera angles...all of it is good. This movie is a really good effort by the practically newbie writers and director. Their future can only shine brighter. People compare this to Mikey, The Good Son, and other killer kid movies. This stands alone in visual and script quality. Isabelle Fuhrman totally owns her role. I don't know how she can possibly top this movie because as far as I'm concerned, she'll forever be known as the Orphan chick. But she's young and I expect good things from her if she chooses the right roles. Even the makeup in this movie is good. Changing from innocent girl to seductress to psychopath ain't easy to pull off, plot or otherwise. But this movie pulls it off. The acting and attention to detail with the makeup and scenery helps a lot. Well done.
If you can, see this movie. It's a gem. Does it have sequel potential? Possibly. I give it 8 out of 10 stars. It's not perfect but for what it is, it's an impressive effort minus the original ending. Did I mention that the original ending totally sucks? Oh, I didn't? Now you know that it does. But enjoy the rest of it.
The alternate ending should have been the theatrical cut. It makes tons more sense and is much better overall for closure regardless of it being left open for a sequel that will probably never happen since Isabelle Fuhrman is only getting older. Either way, the movie is definitely worth watching, especially with the deleted scenes if you can catch this with the alternate ending on Blu-ray. Very enjoyable movie. I'd watch it again. It's that good. Scrap the theatrical cut, go for the alternate ending and watch it with the deleted scenes already cut into the movie. I can't stress that enough.