Orphan review

What's wrong with Esther? It's a somewhat perplexing mystery through much of the new horror-thriller Orphan, starring Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farmiga as parents who want to adopt a 9-year-old child into the family. They end up with the little demon you see on the left.

"Evil Children" is apparently a subgenere, but aside from "It's Alive," "Rosemary's Baby," and "The Omen," I don't have much exposure to it. There's also "The Good Son," but the least we say about THAT, the better. So, is this film worthy? Well, yes and no.

First, I have to say that the film does a nice job slowly building tension and then using it to explode into a flurry of blood spurts. It's a bit imbalanced, if you ask me, to have so much tension peppered with gore scenes. it does NOT hold back in areas I would think it should. Is this a bloodbath or a tense mystery/thriller? It shouldn't be uneven.

But i must give this film props for having some guts and not wussing out. It definitely succeeds in getting under your skin. i must admit, however, that much of the film is just plain wierd. In fact, the film's opening scene is certainly enough to disturb the most hardened horror fan, not for content but simply how the subject matter is handled.

I applaud Orphan for making us completely despise Esther by the end of the film. Isabelle Fuhrman does an amazing job in the film with what she's asked to do. The two leads manage to do OK, but the other two children are surprisingly great as well.

The biggest problem with this film, unfortunately, is even though it kept me on my toes and I didn't guess the twist until about 5 minutes before the big reveal, it quickly descends into cliche once the twist comes full circle. That and the twist is just plain wierd. it has a good lead-up and the hints are all there. It was actually fun trying to figure out the clues. But i can't say everything is done perfectly when it comes to the plot, just...adequately.

And much of the film is just that- adequate. The performances are good, but the execution is ultimately adequate and sometimes cliched, the gore is edgy but not exactly needed, the twist far-fetched but believable. It's a real pro-con film, for with every good thing there's something to take it down a peg.

But I say go for it if you're a horror junkie. If not, maybe a rental on a lazy day when it reaches the shelves.