Well made, Good acting, unpredictable, disturbing, but the ending was terrible.

Rating: 7/10 (28 April 2011)

I think Orphan was one of those rare horror films which are actually unpredictable and scary. Most horror films these day consist of gore, high tension and are very predictable. This wasn't. It had a very strong opening which was disturbing and immediately set the context for the main theme throughout the film.
It was consistently scary and although it was tense throughout, it wasn't so high tension that it was emotionally draining to watch; it kept you interested all the way through. The acting was great from whoever plays Ester and the others were good too.
There were a number of alarming/horrific incidents which were each unpredictable and disturbing in various ways, starting with the brutal killing of a pigeon and progressing to murder and self-inflicted injuries for the sake of treachery. These were integrated with the normal, friendly yet superficial air beautifully. They were also not mindless gore, but mindful gore. They aided the story and were not mundane or boring as some horror films are today, (Eg. Texas Chainsaw Massacre.) I think the reason they were so successful was because not only were they disturbing in the gory sense, but they were cruel and brutal, and an intimidating mentality for a child to have to say the least.
The one thing that tipped the scale for me was the ending. Orphan had consistently been realistic and very well made, until the end where it is revealed that Ester is in fact in her 30s and is about to kill John (Father/Husband). This turn in events is ridiculous. Ester was cruel and downright scary throughout the film, and this was enhanced by the fact that she is a child. The ending just shows that they couldn't think of a clever way to end the story, so they made up something stupid. Yes, it was unpredictable, but it was unrealistic, which did not correspond with the rest of the film. And although it would have also been a slight anti-climax, I feel that the mother should have killed Ester and been taken in as either crazy or arrested. It would have been more predictable, but much more pull-off-able, and far less ridiculous. The ending makes me fairly angry, because Orphan was a very good film before it was ruined by this.
Nonetheless I would recommended watching it, but preparing for a disappointment at the end. It's not worth ignoring a generally good film simply because the ending is bad. Go watch it.