I Love Horror – A horror blog devoted to the critical, analytical, and cynical assessment of the horror industry and horror films.

Orphan_Poster

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Year: 2009
Country: USA

Most won’t agree with me, but Orphan is the best theatrical horror release of this year.

These are strong words, especially when you take into consideration that director Jaume Collet-Serra’s prior horror endeavor was the vomit-inducing House of Wax remake starring Paris Hilton. Not one to let his past indiscretions interfere with his current work, Collet-Serra manages to construct an effective and morbidly humorous thriller that tugs at the ol’ heart strings before using them as a garrot wire on any preconceived notions you might have about this film.

Set in a stunning snowy landscape, Orphan begins as a story about love and loss. Jon and Kate are a seemingly happily married couple with two kids, pre-teen son Daniel and daughter Max, who is deaf. Still reeling from the loss of their stillborn daughter Jessica, the two decide to adopt an older child from a local orphanage, feeling that their love for Jessica shouldn’t go to waste. They ultimately decide on Esther, a nine-year old Russian immigrant with a penchant for painting. Shortly after bringing home, the tension starts to mount as Esther begins to reveal her true nature. Love gives way to fear, and stabbiness ensues.

Orphan is a Hollywood horror film with indie horror sensibilities. Although unable to shake off the sporadic moments of predictability and mired deep in the endless ocean of cliche, it still manages to keep you glued to the seat with nail-biting tension that was palpable throughout. Alleviation came at the end of each scene, only to be picked up and elevated to astronomical levels with the next. While a few scenes did manage to elicit some laughter, I am in utter agreement with Cinematical’s review that most of the laughter throughout can probably be attributed to not only nerves, but sheer shock over just what the hell is going on. In the end, however, evoking nervous laughter from the audience seemed almost intentional, with Collet-Serra luring us into a false sense of security before unleashing his demonic nine-year old on us once again. It’s hard to take much of what’s going on seriously because what’s going on, especially toward the end, is indeed quite absurd. The absurdity, however, and the ensuing laughter is given credence by the twist ending; though absurd in its own right, it’s given a free pass thanks to Isabelle Fuhrman’s incredibly powerful performance.

In between the tension and mixed with the aforementioned grievances were standard horror tropes that managed to draw a number of irksome groans from the audience. Jump scares were plentiful, albeit in modified form that did away with the actual intended scare, save for one time that seemed to be an apology from Collet-Serra for not giving it to us the first time. Sadly, these happened with such frequency that their intended effect was all but completely lost. A stiff soundtrack, encumbered by the constraints of stereotype, only served to exacerbate this. The light piano, however, gave the film an additionally delightful creepy vibe. As the film progresses, however, we learn none of this is truly needed. The fear didn’t come from fleeting scares like or a hackneyed score, but from pure, unbridled, nervous tension, an aspect lost on most contemporary thrillers.

The film’s ability to overshadow its weaknesses is due in no small part to the impressive cast. Isabelle Fuhrman’s cherry face belies the monster that hides within, playing the dual-natured Esther perfectly, seamlessly switching from wholesome to psychotic without missing a beat. To recall the above discussion on the problem with laughter, it felt as if her sudden changes in demeanor throughout the duration of the film were intended to mirror that of the audience’s, with our nervous laughter being interrupted by Esther’s sudden change from seemingly adorable child to utter insanity. Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farmiga played a couple with with a traumatic past in a relatively believable manner, managing to inject a healthy dose of drama and even emotion into the beginning of the film before thriller convention takes hold. Despite this they manage to plow through it, remaining dichotomous in their opinions of the newest addition to their family until the violent climax. Aryana Engineer, who played young daughter Max, is quite possibly the most adorable thing on the planet, and despite this being her first role (performed entirely in sign language), served as one of the reasons Orphan worked so well as a thriller. Her interactions with Esther only enhanced the brutality of the character, counterbalancing yet at the same time highlighting the true nature of the character.

Much of the criticism being directed at the film is related in no small part to the twist ending. Suspension of disbelief is necessary, but its given enough leeway from not only the incredible performances by the four primary characters, but from the way it genuinely attempts to explain the behavior of Esther while remaining within the realm of reality. Its believability comes from the impressive work of the make-up artists, and, as I have mentioned several times throughout, Esther’s ability to transform from wholesome Orphan to psychotic demon spawn. In the end, the good far outweighs the bad, as Orphan manages to successfully utilize tension and terror without cramming standard thriller tropes down our throat. The effectiveness of the film relies on the strong performances, unique script, and Collet-Serra’s tendency to not hold back any punches when it comes to violence or brutality, and for these reasons I consider it an excellent film that brings a welcome relief to the stagnant year of horror we have experienced thus far.