Orphan (2009 film)
Orphan is a 2009 psychological horror film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by David Leslie Johnson from a story by Alex Mace. The film stars Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman, C. C. H. Pounder and Jimmy Bennett. The plot centers on a couple who, after the death of their unborn child, adopt a nine-year-old girl from an orphanage who begins to show signs of violent and disturbing behavior, alarming the family’s matriarch. The film is an international co-production between the United States, Canada, Germany and France. It was produced by  Joel Silver and Susan Downey of Dark Castle Entertainment, and Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran of Appian Way Productions. Principal photography for the film took place in Canada, in the cities of St. Thomas, Toronto, Port Hope, and Montreal. "Orphan" was released theatrically in the United States on July 24, 2009, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its dark humor, scares and Fuhrman's performance as Esther, but criticized its formulaic screenplay. The film grossed $78 million worldwide against a $20 million budget. A prequel, titled "", is in development. Plot . Kate and John Coleman's marriage is strained after the stillbirth of their third child, Jessica, whose loss is particularly hard on Kate. She and John decide to adopt a 9-year-old Russian girl, Esther, from St. Mariana's Home for Girls, a local orphanage. While their 5-year-old deaf daughter, Max, embraces Esther, their 12-year-old son, Daniel, is cold towards her. One night, John and Kate begin to make out, and Esther interrupts them. Kate becomes suspicious when Esther expresses far more knowledge of sex than expected of a child her age. Esther then exhibits  hostile behavior in front of Max and Daniel, such as killing an injured pigeon, and badly injuring a bullying classmate. Sister Abigail, the head of the orphanage, visits the household, warning Kate and John that tragic events and accidents always seem to happen around Esther. To keep Sister Abigail from returning, Esther causes her to crash her car on the road, then kills her with a hammer. She forces Max to help her move the body, then hides the evidence in Daniel's treehouse. Daniel sees them at the treehouse, and she threatens to kill him if he tells Kate  and John. As Kate becomes further convinced about Esther's unusual behavior, John believes she is being paranoid, and tells Esther to do something nice for Kate. Esther rips out the flowers from Jessica's grave, and gives it to Kate as a bouquet. Kate is horrified, and roughly grabs Esther's arm in distress and frustration, asserting that she did this on purpose. That night, Esther breaks her own arm, and falsely blames Kate, causing further strife in her marriage. The next day, she releases the brake in the car, causing it to roll into oncoming traffic with Max  inside. She also points out the wine she found in the kitchen, causing John and Kate's therapist to think that Kate is over the limit again, though she's not. They suggest she return to rehab, and John threatens to leave her and take Daniel, Esther and Max if she refuses. Kate discovers that Esther came from an Estonian mental hospital, and the orphanage she claims she was from has no record of her. When Daniel learns about Sister Abigail's death from Max and searches the treehouse, Esther sets it on fire, and attempts to kill him, but  is thwarted by Max. Daniel is seriously injured, and while in the hospital, Esther tries to smother him to death with a pillow, but doctors arrive in time to revive him. Kate, whose suspicions are confirmed and angry at Esther's attempt to kill Daniel, slaps her, and screams at her to stay away from Daniel and Max, but she is restrained and sedated. That night, Esther dresses provocatively and attempts to seduce John, who threatens to send Esther back to the orphanage after realizing Kate had been right about Esther's behavior. At the hospital, Kate is contacted by  Dr. Värava of the Saarne Instituute, and learns that Esther is actually a 33-year-old woman named Leena Klammer, born in Estonia. She has hypopituitarism, a rare hormonal disorder that stunted her physical growth, and caused proportional dwarfism, and she has spent most of her life posing as a little girl. Leena is violent, and has murdered at least seven people, including the last family that adopted her, after failing to seduce her adoptive father. The ribbons she wears around her wrists and neck have been hiding scars from trying to break out of straitjackets during her time at  the institute. Meanwhile, Leena removes her disguise, and stabs John to death. Kate rushes home, and Leena attempts to shoot her, wounding her arm. After Leena opens fire at Max, Kate breaks through the roof above, and lands on top of her, knocking her out. Kate and Max flee as police arrive, but Leena attacks Kate near the frozen pond, hurling them onto the ice. Max tries to shoot Leena, but shatters the ice instead, sending Leena and Kate underwater. Kate climbs out, with Leena clinging to her legs. Leena once more tries to manipulate Kate, pleading for her life  while holding her knife to her back, but to Leena's shock, Kate doesn't fall for her manipulation and angrily kicks Leena in the face, breaking her neck and killing her. Leena's body sinks into the pond as Kate and Max are met by police. Production. Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard were cast in main roles in late November 2007. Principal photography for the film took place in Canada, in the cities of St. Thomas, Toronto, Port Hope, and Montreal. Esther (Leena Klammer) of Estonia was inspired by the May 2007 media coverage of 34-year-old Barbora  Skrlova, an orphan who abused her first adoptive family and ran away from the police when caught. She eventually was found impersonating Adam, a thirteen-year old boy who had gone missing. Release. "Orphan" had its world premiere in Westwood, Los Angeles on July 21, 2009. The following day, it screened at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Canada. The film was released theatrically in North America on July 24, 2009. It was then released in the United Kingdom on August 7, 2009 by Optimum Releasing. Home media. "Orphan" was released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 27 , 2009 in the United States by Warner Home Video and in the United Kingdom on November 27, 2009 by Optimum Releasing. The DVD includes deleted scenes, and the alternate ending. The opening previews also contain a public service announcement describing the plight of unadopted children in the United States and encouraging domestic adoption. Reception. Box office. The film opened in the 4th spot at the box office, making a total of $12.8 million, behind "G-Force", "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", and "The Ugly Truth". The film went on to gross a worldwide total of $78.3  million. Critical response. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 56% based on 155 reviews, with an average rating of 5.60/10. The website's critics consensus read, "While it has moments of dark humor and the requisite scares, "Orphan" fails to build on its interesting premise and degenerates into a formulaic, sleazy horror/thriller." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 42 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale . Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave "Orphan" 3 stars out of 4, writing: "You want a good horror film about a child from hell, you got one." Mick LaSalle of the "San Francisco Chronicle" also gave a positive review, commenting: ""Orphan" provides everything you might expect in a psycho-child thriller, but with such excess and exuberance that it still has the power to surprise." Todd McCarthy of "Variety" was less impressed, writing: "Teasingly enjoyable rubbish through the first hour, "Orphan" becomes genuine trash during its protracted second half." Manohla Dargis of "The New York Times" wrote: "Actors  have to eat like the rest of us, if evidently not as much, but you still have to wonder how the independent film mainstays Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard ended up wading through "Orphan" and, for the most part, not laughing." Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" gave the film a D+ score, noting: ""Orphan" isn't scary – it's garish and plodding." Keith Phipps from "The A.V. Club" wrote: "If director Jaume Collet-Serra set out to make a parody of horror film clichés, he succeeded brilliantly." Accolades. This film won the "International Feature Length Competition Golden Raven" at the  2010 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival. It was also nominated "Choice Summer Movie: Drama" at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards. Controversy. The film's content, depicting a murderous adoptee, was not well received by adoption groups. The controversy caused filmmakers to change a line in one of their trailers from: Melissa Fay Greene of "The Daily Beast" commented: There is a pro-adoption service message on the DVD, advising viewers to consider adoption. Prequel. In February 2020, development of a prequel film was announced, titled "Esther", with William Brent Bell signed on as director from a script by David Coggeshall . The project will be a joint-venture between eOne and Dark Castle Entertainment. Alex Mace, Hal Sadoff, Ethan Erwin and James Tomlinson will produce the film, with David Leslie Johnson as an executive producer. Production was set to begin summer 2020. In October 2020, Julia Stiles said she was about to start working on the film. In November, the title was changed to "Orphan: First Kill", with Isabelle Fuhrman returning to star in the film.