Adopting the Spawn of Satan . . . Very Good Chiller

Rating: 9/10 (3 August 2009)

You cannot say a lot about "Orphan" without spoiling the ending.
This "Bad Seed" melodrama about a cute little girl who qualifies as a couple's worst nightmare lives up to its R-rating with murder either by knife or pillow. Of course, the language is profane and offensive more than a couple of times.
Spanish-born American film director Jaume Collet-Serra makes up for his uninspired 2005 remake of "House of Wax" with "Orphan," an articulate mystery thriller with a shrewdly written screenplay by newcomer David Johnson based on an Alex Mace story. Nothing that Collet-Serra and his scenarists do can prepare you for the last quarter-hour revelation that not only spins "Orphan" on its head but will also spin your head on its axis. Indeed, "Orphan" opens like a formulaic chiller about the mistakes that come with adopting children, especially if the adolescent is the spawn of Satan.
A young, upscale married couple that should have been content with a boy and a hearing impaired daughter decide to compensate for the tragic death of their third child (he died stillborn) and adopt a needy child. The wife just wants to spread the love that she had for their third child. They adopt a 9-year old Russian girl and the rest of their life becomes a nightmare. "Orphan" relies on anti-Eastern European prejudices. The idea that an American couple might adopt a Russian child sounds rather liberal, but she winds up being an albatross around their necks.
Peter Sargaard and Vera Farmiga make a convincing couple who have seen the downside of life while Isabela Furhman of "Hounddog" is chilling as the villainess. Collet-Serra does an excellent job of building up the suspense and tension after the couple adopts the girl and brings her home. The filmmakers slip in bits and pieces that make sense only after you've seen the film. The ending, again, is a shocker!