This Ain’t Little ‘Orphan’ Annie

orphan-posterHorror films as smart as “Orphan” don’t come along every day.

As a matter of fact, they probably come along once every few years.

When dialog is paid close attention to and realism is guarded more heavily than the Declaration of Independence, you usually have enough substance for a suspenseful thriller, but it isn’t until the blood and gore come in that you have the ingredients of an original and engaging horror/slasher flick.

Luckily, this film has both.

However, when you add in an insane twist at the end that rivals anything in the best M. Night Shyamalan films, you have a once in a lifetime horror flick that manages to shock you as much as it entertains you.

Make no mistakes about it, “Orphan” is the sleeper hit of the summer.

The acting in most horror/slashers is predictable and campy, but “Orphan” is unpredictable. Peter Sarsgaard [Shattered Glass, Garden State] and Vera Farmiga [The Departed, The Manchurian Candidate] play John and Kate [No “Plus Eight” here] Coleman, a couple looking to adopt a third child after Kate has a miscarriage. Their dialog throughout is warm, emotional and real, and will hook you into the developments that occur throughout the film. The supporting cast of youngsters Aryana Engineer as Max and Jimmy Bennett as Daniel are also incredibly convincing and make their presence known throughout, proving that they have the ability to be much more than cute supporting actors in the future.

While the performances of Sarsgaard, Farmiga, Engineer and Bennett are excellent, the movie is made by the skill and sheer evilness of Isabelle Fuhrman as Esther. Cunning, witty and demonic, Fuhrman has you in the palm of her hand throughout the entire 123 minutes of the film. A combination of Dexter Morgan from the Showtime hit “Dexter” and John Torrance from “The Shining,” her character is pure hate, masked in manipulation and tact. Getting an 11-year-old to be able to pull something off a character so intense is no simple task either. Just like her young co-stars, she has a bright future in Hollywood. Of the three however, she may have the brightest.

The cinematography and pacing of “Orphan” is also something to behold. It manages to make a scene as serene and fun as a playground and turn it into a maze of death and destruction. Throughout the film, you’ll wonder when the next big shock is coming and you’ll be surprised every time- no predictability there at all. Because of this winning combination of titillating writing and stellar acting, “Orphan” is a surefire success.

Sometimes, excellent horror challenges the mind as much as it does scare the soul and is as bloody as it is intelligent.

“Orphan,” simply put, has it all.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

1 Comment

  1. Work It! You know at first I didn’t want to see “Orphan,” but by reading this review it has changed my mind. I’m up for it now, it sounds exciting. =)

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