After a slow-burning start Orphan degenerates into an increasingly grisly, far-fetched affair with a jaw-dropping twist that has you chortling with disbelief.
Comment
08/07/09
Orphan (2009)
54
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:134
Fresh:73
Rotten:61
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: 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.
Theatrical Release:07-08-2009
Synopsis: The tragic loss of their unborn child has devastated Kate and John, taking a toll on both their marriage and Kate’s fragile psyche as she is plagued by nightmares and haunted by demons from her... [More]
Starring: Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman, CCH Pounder
Director: Jaume Collet-Sera
Reviews for Orphan
A squall of improbabilities leads to a laughable late revelation, yet somehow the film keeps a clammy grip.
08/07/09
Sticking closely to the conventions of the Evil Child movie genre, there are few surprises (or even scares) as we saunter towards that absurd ending. Just about worth a punt on DVD.
08/11/09
A difficult child that horror-loving parents will find hard to adopt as one of their own.
09/11/09
Predictable and been-there, seen-that, but entertaining nevertheless at times.
08/07/09
Top CriticOrphan is certainly scary enough for the story to haunt you after the film is over.
08/07/09
There’s a lot of slow burn to endure in the first hour, but the payoff is one of the most batshit crazy finales in recent memory.
08/07/09
Solid lead performances and a moderately engaging premise make Orphan a slightly above-average evil-child movie with an infusion of Electra complex and a good, if half-hearted, narrative twist.
07/23/09
A creepy premise is undermined by wilfully flashy direction as a fine cast struggle bravely to inject credibility into a tale of vanishing nuns and burning treehouses.
08/07/09
Top CriticSome impressively committed work from Farmiga (even when Googling "Children who kill") and a humdinger of a twist make this a rather good bad seed.
08/07/09
Top CriticPreposterous in all the right ways, Orphan is this week's true guilty pleasure.
08/07/09
Orphan is nasty but enjoyable, and the whole film is so competently crafted and superbly acted, especially by the three central females, that I was gripped and entertained throughout.
08/07/09
It has atmosphere and tension, and the performances are far better than usual for this sort of caper.
08/11/09
Collet-Serra manages to sustain tension throughout, prudently deploying his jumps and jolts and pumping up the grue factor. So while it often prompts hoots of derision, they’re often choked off with a vice-tight wince.
08/07/09
A welcome addition to the Evil Child sub-genre, thanks to great performances, strong direction, a delightfully over-the-top plot, some impressive gore effects and a terrific twist.
08/07/09
It's not only the heavily-signposted "secret" that's obvious, but every single scene, as square pegs fit joylessly into square holes for the full running time.
08/07/09
That director Jaume Collet-Serra made House of Wax, the Paris Hilton remake, does not bode well. But stars Vera Farmiga and Peter Saarsgard, as mum and dad, find a few frail pegs of humanity to hang their characters on.
08/07/09
This wickedly entertaining, if slightly over-stretched, variation on the familiar ‘evil child’ scenario displays an unusually complex grasp of twisted psychology.
08/07/09
Top CriticLifted above the average by a pretty nifty twist and some unnecessarily good acting.
08/11/09
Although slightly overlong, the film sustains the escalating horror and keeps up its sleeve a truly shocking revelation that's carefully prepared for, though not signalled.
08/11/09
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