Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Orphan (2009)

A family adopt a little girl which starts behaving strangely and is hiding unexpected secrets.

Expecting yet another boring horror on The Omen&Co theme, I watched this movie without much hope in the resulting entertainment, and instead I found myself experiencing a tense by-the-book thriller, built in the classic pattern and efficiency. It's a production that switches really easily between ridiculous and terrifying, also giving light ironic and funny vibes and at the same time it is an extremely serious film in its story with a very well-constructed plot (which is only obvious towards the end) and it overall keeps a natural course. Despite several predictable elements, and other more or less common mishaps, the film effectively maintains the tension at a low fire, never leaving it die out, helped by the strong cast, most notably the children - Isabelle Fuhrman is impressive in the role of the evil Esther, but without stealing little Aryana Engineer's thunder as the impressionable deaf-mute Max.

Directed by: Jaume Collet-Serra
Screenplay: David Johnson (screenplay), Alex Mace (story)
Featuring: Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman, Aryana Engineer, CCH Pounder, Jimmy Bennett

This is a translation of an older post, see it here

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