entertaining little horror flick

Rating: 7/10 (20 August 2009)

I saw this movie last night and despite mixed reviews (some were positive to the point of excellent whilst some denounced it as boring trash with a silly secret) i was pleasantly surprised at the decency of this movie - I'm not calling it a masterpiece, I've seen better movies in general, but nor would i rubbish it either. The twist ending is in fact not the best part of 'Orphan'... despite the ending being quite intelligent and original. The movie develops in two distinct halves, the first part we have a very subtle, psychological, dark film with emphasis placed on characterisation, we see and understand the motivations behind the characters and in terms of letting the mood develop, it has a dark, edgy vibe that works well, ditto the creepy Esther is introduced to us and she proceeds to intrigue us, whilst we learn nothing about her. The second part of the movie moves on from the subtleness and into terror, as we begin to see exactly what this little girl is all about. The violence eventually goes over the top and in the end, it becomes incomprehensible, but OTT cannot ruin what came before, the early parts of the film an excellent way to utilise suspense in an interesting and intriguing manner. Overall I'm giving the movie 7/10, the story was good and kept me interested, whilst the performance from 12year old Isabelle Furhmann as Esther is astonishing. that child is definitely one to watch. Overall, worth a look if you enjoy unusual horror movies. David Ford