ORPHAN REVIEW!!!

Initial release date: July 24, 2009

Studios: Warner Brothers/Dark Castle Entertainment/Appian Way Productions/Studio Canal

Tagline: There's something wrong with Esther

Plot: Devastated by the loss of their unborn baby, Kate and John decide to adopt a child. At the orphanage, both feel drawn to a little girl named Esther, and soon the couple take their new daughter home. But when a dangerous series of events unfolds, Kate begins to suspect that there is something evil lurking behind the child's angelic exterior.

Cast

Vera Farmiga - Kate

Peter Skarsgaard - John

Isabelle Fuhrmann - Esther

CCH Pounder - Sister Abigail

Jimmy Bennett - Daniel

Margo Martindale - Dr. Browning

Karel Raden - Dr. Varava

Aryana Engineer - Max

Rosemary Dunsmore - Grandma Barbara

Writer: Daniel Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (Orphan: First Kill; The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It)

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra (Black Adam; Jungle Cruise; The Commuter)

Rated R for disturbing violent content, some sexuality and language (123 minutes)

With this current slate, I will be taking a look at a few movies and their sequels, one of which had a much different critical/audience reception. And, to start, I'm taking a look at a couple movies I've wanted to check out for some time - Orphan (2009) and Orphan: First Kill (2022).

The 2009 thriller Orphan does deliver some really effective scares and some intense moments. There are quite a few scenes that will leave you on the very edge of your seat, especially once Esther begins to act up majorly.

For quite some time, I've always wanted to check this movie out, especially once it was announced that it would spawn a prequel. Indeed, I did find out about the twist ending before seeing the movie. But, I still wanted to see it anyway. Everything leading up to the twist can be unpredictable and surprises you! When you see Esther start attacking people one by one to keep her secret safe and try to get what she wants, the suspense really begins to build.

Orphan received mixed reviews from critics when it was initially released. Critics praised the dark humor, scares and Fuhrman's performance (which I agree, she can be creepy), but criticized its formulaic screenplay, uneven pacing and the two hour runtime. It currently holds a 58% critic score and a 63% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Next up, I will be checking out the 2022 prequel Orphan: First Kill, available on Paramount Plus. The prequel still received mixed reviews like this movie, yet it was better received.

Here are some fun tidbits for the 2009 thriller Orphan!

• Isabelle Fuhrman auditioned for the part of Esther while wearing an old-fashioned dress and ribbons around her wrists and neck.

• Actress Aryana Engineer, who plays Max, their completely deaf biological daughter in the movie, is actually mostly deaf. She has Cochlear implants which enhance her abilities to hear and speak.

• Warner Bros. edited the movie's trailer to remove Esther's line, "It must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own," after receiving numerous complaints from adoptive parents and foster care organizations. However, the line remains in the movie.

• Fuhrman won the 2009 Fright Meter Award for Best Actress for her performance.

• The movie opened in the fourth spot at the box office, having a weekend total of $12.8 million, behind G-Force, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and The Ugly Truth. It went on to gross a worldwide total of $78.3 million ($41.5 million domestic).

https://youtu.be/m5BSLNAKIZs