A different kind of horror movie

Rating: 7/10 (10 July 2010)

I don't like horror films, but "Orphan" was different. It was written well enough to be able to hold my sense of disbelief and keep me suspensed.
In this horror film we actually have characters. Kate (Vera Farmiga) and John (Peter Sarsgaard) have two kids, Daniel and Max, and they all have back-stories that are significant to the film, and they each struggle with who they are and how to grow as individuals and as a family. Then they adopt Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman). All we know is that there's something wrong with Esther.
Esther greatly disrupts the family's life - with a lot of violence and psychosis. Don't forget this is a horror film. Although that is easy to forget because the plot is driven by characters - perhaps a first for this genre? The characters are integral to a story that was so well researched that it's actually legit. That fact probably makes it even scarier.
Even if you don't watch horror films, you could start with "Orphan".