Can you keep a secret?
A husband and wife who recently lost their baby adopt a 9-year-old girl who is not nearly as innocent as she claims to be.
Genre(s): Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Runtime: 123 minutes
Rating: 7.2/10 (5,636 votes)
Release Date: 21 July 2009
Country: USA, Canada, Germany, France
Languages: English, American Sign Language, Estonian
Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
Sound: DTS, Dolby Digital, SDDS
MPAA: Rated R for disturbing violent content, some sexuality and language.
Director(s): Jaume Collet-Serra
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Producer(s):
Aaron Auch - associate producer
David Barrett - co-producer
Don Carmody - executive producer
Leonardo DiCaprio - producer
Susan Downey - producer
Ethan Erwin - associate producer
Stacey Fields - associate producer
Christoph Fisser - co-producer
Michael Ireland - executive producer
Jennifer Davisson Killoran - producer
Sarah Meyer - associate producer
Richard Mirisch - co-producer
Henning Molfenter - co-producer
Erik Olsen - co-producer
Steve Richards - executive producer
Joel Silver - producer
Charlie Woebcken - co-producer (as Dr. Carl Woebcken)
Writer(s):
David Johnson - (screenplay) (as David Leslie Johnson)
Alex Mace - (story)
Cast:
Vera Farmiga - Kate Coleman
Peter Sarsgaard - John Coleman
Isabelle Fuhrman - Esther
CCH Pounder - Sister Abigail
Jimmy Bennett - Daniel Coleman
Margo Martindale - Dr. Browning
Karel Roden - Dr. Värava
Aryana Engineer - Max Coleman
Rosemary Dunsmore - Grandma Barbara
Jamie Young - Brenda
Music: John Ottman
Aaron Auch - associate producer
David Barrett - co-producer
Don Carmody - executive producer
Leonardo DiCaprio - producer
Susan Downey - producer
Ethan Erwin - associate producer
Stacey Fields - associate producer
Christoph Fisser - co-producer
Michael Ireland - executive producer
Jennifer Davisson Killoran - producer
Sarah Meyer - associate producer
Richard Mirisch - co-producer
Henning Molfenter - co-producer
Erik Olsen - co-producer
Steve Richards - executive producer
Joel Silver - producer
Charlie Woebcken - co-producer (as Dr. Carl Woebcken)
Writer(s):
David Johnson - (screenplay) (as David Leslie Johnson)
Alex Mace - (story)
Cast:
Vera Farmiga - Kate Coleman
Peter Sarsgaard - John Coleman
Isabelle Fuhrman - Esther
CCH Pounder - Sister Abigail
Jimmy Bennett - Daniel Coleman
Margo Martindale - Dr. Browning
Karel Roden - Dr. Värava
Aryana Engineer - Max Coleman
Rosemary Dunsmore - Grandma Barbara
Jamie Young - Brenda
Music: John Ottman
Posted on: July 17, 2009
August 23rd, 2009
Let's see, where to begin…
I saw this movie late at night about a month ago. I had heard goodthings about it and saw its IMDb page and was looking forward toit…boy did I ever get tricked. I usually love late-night horrormovies, but this was a real snoozer. I kept falling asleep and mygirlfriend kept having to wake me up. The theatre started with about 12people in it, there were 5 when it was done.
First off, I HATE Vera Farmiga. I have not liked her in ANYTHING shehas been in, and this was no different. Calling her an actress is likecalling nails on a chalkboard music.
The scares were very predictable. First off, too many "jump" scenes.Second, any "twist" they came up with I figured out within the first 20minutes; and they weren't even that interesting to begin with.
'Esther' wasn't good, scary, convincing, memorable, or even remotelyinteresting. Her character build-up was poorly done, and she was a verypredictable "killer".
There was almost no good in this movie, the only thing that kept mewatching was some good scenery and some good suspense. Not much,though.
3/10.
August 24th, 2009
Orphan looked good. Predictable probably but good. My expectations weredecent but who knew the film would blow them away. This is probably thebest horror film I have seen in a very long time, this year probably.The story is mature and intelligent and so incredibly suspenseful thatyou will never tear your eyes away. The gore is not used gratuitouslybut the death scenes are nonetheless terrifying and the performance inthe film are outstanding lead by a little girl that under differentcircumstances deserves an Academy Award in my opinion. Orphan actuallyturns in a rather unique story with some obvious familiar tones butevery film does that, some better than others. The movie will give youa throwback to The Good Son with Macaulay Culkin, Children of The Cornand so forth but the greatness of the performances outweighs any andall familiarity. We may have some great future talent in new writersAlex Mace and David Johnson. Horror might be easy to write but to trulycreate an experience that will haunt, terrify and horrify, especiallynowadays that requires a certain amount of talent.
That talent probably owes a huge amount to the twelve year old littlegirl I mentioned earlier. Isabelle Fuhrman is literally mind blowing asthe mentally deranged, secretive Esther. Her dark brooding eyes go fromcompassionate to killer in seconds and she makes it so believable andyou will literally fear this strange little girl. She has probablycreated one of the most memorable horror killers in movie history andmight not even know it. This little girl has a promising career aheadof her because her performance will chill you to the bone. Aparticularly disturbing scene has her melting down in a bathroom stalland it will send chills through your body. Vera Farmiga gives apowerful performance as the grieving mother who is recovering from theloss of her baby. She is also the one to slowly realize Esther'sissues. Farmiga is terrific and a great scream queen but in a far moreintelligent way along the lines of Jamie Lee Curtis and that is a greatcomparison to be made. Peter Sarsgaard is excellent as the perfectmacho male, sexy, the perfect father, understanding, hard working butoblivious to Esther. His chemistry with Farmiga is excellent and theirscenes together are perfect. Young Jimmy Bennett and lovely littleAryana Engineer (who as in the movie is deaf in real life) play theother children in the family. Both of them give excellent performancesand play opposite Fuhrman expertly. As good as she is these two holdtheir own and manage to really stand out.
This cast works so well together with a script that is brilliantlywritten. This is one of those rare gems that everything just falls intoplace and blows your mind. Director Jaume Collet-Serra obviously has atalent for horror story telling. Despite being critically and boxoffice panned the House of Wax remake was a great teen horror flick andhe seems to have a passion for horror and make us want more. Rightaway, as an enormous horror fan, the sheer ideas and potential for anOrphan series started to branch in my mind. While it is likely thatnone of them would ever see the full greatness of the original it wouldbe just incredible to watch. Horror fans pay attention because thismight be one of the greatest films of the year and absolutely one of myfavorite horror films as of right now. Go see it NOW!! The incredibleending will blow your mind, you will absolutely, unequivocally NEVERsee it coming. 9/10
August 24th, 2009
So after a very frightening trailer, Orphan looked like a veryinteresting movie, even though we have done many of the evil childrenfilms, sometimes it doesn't hurt to see a new twist to the story. Eventhe rating on IMDb kept going up and up after a few weeks, so I checkedout Orphan and over all while it's a very strange movies and no doubthas some flaws here and there, it's a very effective and chillinghorror movie. What truly makes the movie though are the top notchperformances we get. Isabelle Fuhrman who plays Esther, this littlegirl is only 12 years old?! I can't believe how well she did, howcreepy and charming she could be, her presence on screen was absolutelysensational. Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard who play the adoptiveparents are perfect, their chemistry was on key and also are heartbreaking to watch as you see their marriage on the shakes over thismanipulative little girl that is just plain evil.
Kate and John Coleman are having problems in their marriage afterKate's third child was stillborn. The loss is particularly hard onKate, who is still recovering from a drinking habit that cost her herjob. They adopt Esther, a 9-year-old Russian girl they had met, fromthe local orphanage. While Kate and John's daughter Max embracesEsther, their son Daniel is less welcoming. Kate grows suspicious whenEsther, who watched Kate and John have sex, expresses far moreknowledge of sex and its slang than would be expected for a child herage. Kate is further alarmed when Sister Abigail, the head of theorphanage, warns her and John about Esther's tendency to be around whenthings go wrong. Esther overhears this and later silences SisterAbigail forever. John does not believe Kate, despite continued ominousbehavior by Esther. Kate learns that Esther was housed at a mentalinstitution in Estonia called the Saarne Institute. Daniel decides togo to the police. However, Esther sets the tree house on fire,intending to get rid of Daniel. Daniel escapes by falling out of thetree, and gets a severe neck injury. Esther again tries to kill him atthe hospital by smothering him with a pillow. As doctors rush to saveDaniel, Kate angrily knocks Esther down for doing that and is sedatedby doctors. But Esther isn't done yet with her plan, but what's wrongwith Esther? Well, apparently she's the hand that is rocking thecradle.
While Orphan is a good movie, it does have it's share of flaws here andthere. Kate slaps Esther severely when she suspects Esther of trying tomurder her son, in front of people no less, yet somehow no police arecalled and she can walk easily out of the hospital after being sedated.Also how did the parents adopt a child only after 3 weeks of meetingher? Normally this takes a good long while, admittedly this is a movie,but still I'm supposed to believe this? Also even though the ending wasa good twist, sadly after seeing way too many movies I was able tofigure out what the ending was before everyone finds out all together.But if you have continued to read my comment this long I would actuallyrecommend this movie if you let go of the little flaws here and there,this was a very entertaining thrill ride of a movie. This is one of thebetter movies I have seen this year and it's definitely worth thewatch.
8/10
August 26th, 2009
Did those line of words make sense? In the real life, it is. And so doOrphan.
When I first watch the trailer, just like most of the movie-goers here,I assumed that this movie is just about another evil born kid and blabla bla. You know, the usual plot stories. With the opening (of themovie) like that, one would be so sure of themselves that this is onehorror movie.
But guess what? It wasn't. I enter the theater with a great hope that Iwill see something scary. But somehow, that hope was thrashed. Alongthe way, another kind of satisfaction came to replace mydisappointment. This is not just another boring and bad movie. It got alot of surprise and twisted stories. Believe me.
I think, for most of the thriller fans will find this movie amusing andentertaining. Just like myself. At least, I would give this movie 9/10.
Great one. You really have to watch it.
August 26th, 2009
Horror has been real stale for a long time now, with only foreignmovies like (REC) and the borderline-horror Let the Right One Inbringing anything worthwhile to the table. But what about America, thecountry that spawned the most popular icons of the genre? It's mostlybeen wallowing in silly remakes of shitty Japanese movies or bad PG 13ghost stories – and let's not even mention SAW and Hostel – since thelast half of the 90s. It's time for a real turn-around movie to bringAmerica back to the forefront. The Descent was good, and those horrorcomedies like Planet Terror and SLiTHER were nice distractions, but weneed a really good, kickass return to why horror is good in the firstplace. With that said…Orphan.
I mean, good god. Where did this even come from? It's the mostterrifying, depraved, downright evil movie I've seen out of amainstream US theater in years! This movie is ballsy, not afraid at allto take risks or make you feel completely hopeless. I had no idea whatwas going to happen next at any turn in this movie; everything was shotin the dark and masterfully suspenseful. And yeah, of course the kid isevil, but she's built up in a way that makes you like her and feelsorry for her at first – something that even a good movie like Omendidn't do.
I was honestly completely surprised at a lot of the things this moviedid, from the twisted opening sequence to the final bloody chasethrough the snow. This movie is brutal and does not hold back, and Ilike that a lot about it. It doesn't even try to sugar coat thechildren from harm – I'm obviously not going to say I like this aboutit, but that's what makes it so goddamn SCARY, and that is why itrules. Where other movies would come off as silly doing some of thestuff here, and while some of it is a bit "been there done that," it'sall just executed so well that I can't say no.
Oh, and there are even a few comedic moments scattered throughout,adding an unexpected element of humor to the darkly chimeric mix here.They aren't too prevalent, but they're definitely noticeable. Itdoesn't lighten the mood, it just makes the movie more real. That'swhat any humor in a movie like this should do.
Yeah, there are a few dull moments, and a few kind of generic scares,but those are in the minority. This movie is just supremely good,definitely the best horror movie I've seen out of the US this decade.Highly recommended to those of you who can't turn down a good headtripevery now and then.
August 29th, 2009
I don't have a heart disease and I felt that my heart was gonna stop,the movie is so heart pounding and intense I almost had a nervousbreakdown that made my stomach feel strange. I was jumping I wastrembling and how we puertoricans say "Se me fue el alma" (I lost mysoul for a moment). I never expected this movie to be so good, I heardit was good but I got something so much better.
Also, I never thought the kids acting could be so great and convincing(especially Esther's). The story and the plot twist were so good,original and unique.
To me Esther's secret was spoiled before I went to see the movie (Iwont do that), so I didn't think It would carry enough suspense for me,but it did anyway. If the secret had not been spoiled, I would havedied of a heart attack with all tense. I have never seen ahorror/thriller that could give me so many scares and heart stoppingmoments. I could not have wished for a better thriller.
It's a 10/10
August 30th, 2009
This was an unexpected surprise, a tale of suspense and horror, builtaround one of the most malevolent villains to come out of cinema in thelast 75 years. For a moment, I kept thinking that if the bad guy herewent up against the demon of "The Exorcist" or good old Jason orFreddy, those guys wouldn't stand a chance against this villain. Evilapparently lurks in the most unexpected places, and it is behind oneinteresting facade here.
As the story unfolds, we discover that Esther is full of surprises andthat there is very little she is not willing to do to prove a point orprotect herself. As those actions become more intense and we cringe aswe wait for the next deathly action to take place, we also marvel atthe complexity of the story, for this is no ordinary horror thriller.It builds upon the demons that have been haunting a family for the lastfew years.
Beautifully photographed and scored, and directed with strongconfidence, the film never stops surprising you and doesn't let you gountil the very last minute. The most impressive factor is the acting ofall the principals involved, for this is not a movie that relies solelyin special effects, a loud soundtrack, or quick cuts to create anoppressive atmosphere where evil thrives.
It is somewhat original, hypnotic, and perfectly able to show thevarious degrees and faces of violence and hatred, throw in a twist ofpsychosis and one of the scariest characters since Hannibal Lectoer,and we almost wish there was a sequel in the works. A classic is born.
August 30th, 2009
This film opens with a nightmarish and very disturbing scene wheremother is reliving the tragedy of the baby she lost. Everything isblurred and sinister looking. This scene ends and the real storybegins. I have to say that opening a movie with a dream/nightmaresequence is a highly innovative and refreshing idea. We usually have towait so damn long, for character development, for story arks, blah blahblah. But this movie truly delivers the goods right from the get go.
The couple have a son but have lost their second child. They decide toadopt. There is this real cute Russian girl painting upstairs and thehusband is charmed into adopting. Creepy things start to go wrongthroughout the movie between the little girl and her mother. The girlvery nearly drives her adoptive mother to psychosis. It is too late bythe end however. The film has some great comic touches. The son sharingPerfect 10 sneakily out of a secret stash up in his tree house. Thereis a scene near the end which is such a deadly comic device that thewhole theatre were squirming in a majestic evil ecstasy. To give awaythe end however would be cruel. The movie is very twisted and I meanVERY twisted. There is a kind of cunning humour running through itscinematic veins such as when she warns her step brother not to tell 'orI'll cut your pee-pee off before you know what it's for!!!! Wonderfullybizarre, bizarrely erotic and mad as f**k
July 5th, 2010
IT IS ONE SICK FILM I HOPE THEY MAKE ORPHAN 2 BECAUSE I LIKED THE FIRST ONE
MY RATINGS OUT OF 5 FOR ORPHAN THE FILM
5. DON,T MISS
4. EXCELLENT
3. GOOD
2. AVERAGE
1. POOR
I WILL BE HONEST AND IT GIVE IT A 5 BECAUSE THERES A LOT OF TENSION BETWEEN ESTHER AND DANIEL BUT FOR ME
DANIEL IS WORSE SIMPLY BECAUSE HE SAYS AT THE DINNER TABLE SHES NOT MY FUCKING SISTER AND AT SCHOOL IN FRONT OF HIS FRIENDS HE PUSHES ESTHER OVER AND LAUGHS WITH HIS FRIENDS BUT LITTLE DOES HE KNOW WHATS IN STORE WHEN ESTHER THREATENS HIM NOT TO SAY ANYTHING WHEN HE SEES MAX AND ESTHER REMOVEING A BODY WHAT SHE SAYS TO DANIEL IS THAT IF HE TELLS ANYONE WHAT SHES DONE SHE WILL CUT HIS DICK OFF BEFORE HE KNOWS WHAT ITS FOR ITS HILARIOUS ACTUALLY BECAUSE I THINK HE PISSES HIMSELF BUT IF I WAS IN ESTHERS POSITION I WOULD HAVE CUT IT OFF BUT SHE DIDN,T, ANYWAY THE WAY HE WAS TREATING ESTHER BEFORE THAT AS FAR AS IM CONCERNED HE HAD IT COMING. THIS IS NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED AND IF YOU HAVE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE I WOULD ADVICE YOU NOT TO WATCH IT BECAUSE YOU MIGHT GET SCARED BUT IN ALL HONESTY I THOUGHT IT WAS COMPLETELY FUNNY AND ONE THE BEST SO CALLED HORROR MOVIES THAT I HAVE WATCHED I HONESTLY HOPE THAT THEY MAKE AN ORPHAN 2 BECAUSE I LIKED THE FIRST ONE AND ESTHER PLAYS THE KID ROLE VERY WELL, OVERALL A VERY GOOD MOVIE WITH LOTS OF TWISTS AND TURNS
ESTHER IS A KID OR IS SHE?
April 27th, 2011
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