Orphan scores 2.5/5

There is something about evil children that do my head in. I'm not talking Dennis the Menace type of "evil". I'm thinking Damien from 'The Omen' and that freaky little tyke from 'Pet Semetary' evil.

Following in the tradition of the latter two cutthroat kids comes Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman), an uber-creepy Russian youngster cooling her heels in an American orphanage. While an accomplished artist and pianist, she is still clearly a little unhinged.

But despite her bizarre choice in clothes, and her said creepiness, she is snapped up by a doting American couple, Kate and John (Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard), who are anxious to make up for Kate's recent miscarriage and decide to add the 'precious' young girl to their family.

Kate and John already have two kids, Daniel and Max, and a bucket-load of issues to handle. Kate, dealing with the pain of losing a child, is also trying to stay sober, while John has a hard time trusting her because their youngest almost drowned while Kate was on the sauce.

By the time Kate notices that something is seriously wrong with their latest arrival, Esther has ensconced herself within the family, particularly with John and daughter Max.

Kate has an ally in son Daniel, but the sulky little chap is no match for the crazed Esther, who is all over him like a cheap suit when he attempts to drive a wedge between his new sister and her new daddy…

But the real focus here is the battle between Kate and Esther as the former attempts to make a believer of her husband. Based on her recent history of abuse, John is having none of it though. Until it's too late, that is.

It's all been done before, and while the big twist in this tale does seem a bit contrived, for the most part, 'Orphan' works on creeping you out.


RSS
Digg
de.li.cious
facebook