Iffy for 16+
Bad Seed-style horror movie is gory and ludicrous.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this is a review of the movie shown intheaters and not the unrated version with an alternate ending availableon DVD. Parents also need to know that this gory horror movie centers on extremely violent, sexual acts carried out by a 9-year-old girl. While the film's ultimate twist negates some of the queasy, sleazy feeling that comes from watching this kind of material, the bulk of the movie revolves around the shock value of seeing a child doing horrible things. Plus, there's lots of swearing (including "f--k" and "s--t"), as well as smoking, drinking, and sexual scenes between adults.
- Families can talk about the movie's violence. Is it more or less realistic than what you've seen in other thrillers/horror movies? How does that affect its impact?
- How do you feel about the fact that a child is the one committing the movie's most horrible acts?
- Does the movie's twist let the filmmakers off the hook for some of the more extreme moments?
The good stuff
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Messages: The film's serious take on themes of adoption and loss are wholly undermined by the "killer child" plot; the film gives itself an out (in a twist too ludicrous to reveal), but much of it trades on a creepy, "taboo" images and concepts involving the 9-year-old at center of the action.
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Role models: While the main characters' desire to adopt in the wake of a miscarriage at first presents a model of compassion and love, the film's gory, horrific violence soon wipes it away with a red tide of blood. Esther, the child they adopt, is pure evil, with no redeeming characteristics.
What to watch for
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Violence: Extreme violence, much of it involving children. A young girl hurls a peer out of a play set, smothers another child to death, and points a loaded gun point blank at a third. She also kills adults via hammer beating, stabbing, and shooting. Perils include fire, vehicular endangerment, crashing through a frozen pond, fistfights, and more. A character is kicked in the head, hard, and the shot lingers on his/her breaking neck. Discussions of beatings and murders. Extensive blood, including violent surgical imagery. A character breaks his/her own arm to feign abuse.
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Sex: A young child dresses and acts in a deliberately sexual, provocative manner, although her advances are rebuffed. A married couple engages in sexual acts in bed and in the kitchen; adults are seen stripped down to their underwear. A group of pre-teen boys looks at a pornographic magazine (nudity is shown). Sex is discussed with a younger child.
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Language: Extensive strong language, including "f--k," "s--t," "bitch," "prick," "crap," "a--hole," "oh my God," and more. "Retard" is frequently used as an epithet, and "Jesus freak" is used once.
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Consumerism: Characters play the video game Guitar Hero; other brands shown on screen include Perfect Ten magazine and Lexus.
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Drinking, drugs and smoking: Extensive discussion of how one main character has had a problematic relationship with alcohol in the past, plus depictions of her being tempted to drink again. Another main character smokes cigarettes and gets drunk drinking an entire bottle of wine; viewers see some events from his woozy, boozy perspective.
Fan Reviews provided by
5
Orphan by johnr771
It was a great movie! Keep you on the edge of your seat type!
5
FANTASTIC!! by movie_fanatic10
This movie was absolutely great! i loved it! It had me at the edge of my seat. The girl who portrayed Ester did an amazing performance along with the other cast! The twist was crazy as hell.
To all the people on here who gave it a bad rating SHUT THE F**K UP!!!! Seriously, all the comments I read on how its an insult towards orphans. Really get over yourself. The movie was just for pure entertainment not to insult you! All you guys are complete whine baby's. The trailer obvioulsy showed what the movie was about so why in the hell did you watch it in the first place? Get a f**ken clue!! And do us all a favor and stop leaving bad comments!!
5
Heart Racing, Thrilling, Surprising!!! by WiiFreedom
Usually, I see horror films that are good, but not this one, Its amazing! The scenes with Esther on this movie made me feel that she is a showoff of something, like the revolver. She takes all but one bullet out of it and points the gun at Max: "Wanna play a game?" This movie is twisted, but its a must see! Nearly at the end will surprise you...I won't tell what it is... GO WATCH!!!
5
that was............ by lestat_lover1016
amazing....i saw it today with my fiance and it was way better than expected!!!! there were so many plot twists that my head spun! if u love thriller/slasher/mystery/horror movies then The Orphan is the must see movie of the year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5
keeps you guessing by IslandGirlErika
I loved this movie. The whole movie keeps you guessing and the twist... it was a one I kinda expected, but I was still surprised. For those who took children, i think the ratings specifically recommend no children. I would never take my child to see a movie like this or any other rated R one. Haven't seen a movie like this in a while. Definitely a must see!
3
"Orphan" is scary but not perfect either. by ocandrew
I liked "Orphan", but both the storyline and the father/husband were the two most annoying parts of the film.
"Orphan" is about a yuppie couple who adopt a nine-year-old Russian girl who is very smart and articulate for her age.
This nine-year-old girl was basically allowed to commit horrific acts throughout the movie and get away with it. The mother/wife had suspicions; however, she was at the mercy of a clueless father who kept doubting her every step of the way no matter how horrific each act was and he too had some issues himself such as his wandering eye, so he was no role model himself. What hurt the mother/wife's credibility was her past drinking problem and a years-ago accident that left her youngest child/daughter deaf. Another thing standing in the way was their two birth children so terrified of their new step-sibling they dare not say a bad word about her for fear of their lives.
The biggest plus for "Orphan" was the most original plot twist.
5
Unexpected success by rfaulk
I was expecting another lame horror movie to just laugh at how bad it was. But after the pretty slow introduction, it just increasingly got me to the edge of my seat. It was by far one of the better scary movies I have seen in quite a long time.
The beginning is pretty slow and the ending is kind of lame, but don't judge it just on that. The middle of the movie was just amazing. Creepy. Scary. Thrilling. MUST GO!
5
Great Suspense Movie! by sbusse
Reading the reviews prior to seeing this film got me worried. When I went, the average rating was a "so-so", so naturally my expectations decreased. However, this filmed delivered excellently. The actors did a phenomenal job, and the suspense was great. Like many other reviews said, the twist in this movie was crazy. Though this movie isn't necessarily the "slasher" type, it's a great suspenseful movie, and is a must see for the summer.
5
One of the best I've seen! by ymshea1262
Awesome, excellent and exciting movie! An end I didn't expect!!
5
Good Movie- a must see horror/suspense by kmartai
I was very impressed by the movie. It had a nice twist to it towards the end and definitely cemented itself as one of the best of its genre in recent years. The performances were good, especially the lead character in Esther--definitely make you think twice about adopting. A must see--check it out...