If you’re thinking of adopting a child, you may want to think twice, then a few more times, because some kids come home with more luggage than you bargained for. The orphan in this movie; a nine-year-old girl named Esther; is very bad. That’s part of the problem. She’s too bad too quick; a fact that, even given the big revelation at the end, strains the believability of a plot that is otherwise engaging and plausible.

My favorite character is the deaf girl; Ester’s new “sister”. She’s cute, but I also like the parents, particularly the father Ester plays the role of Daddy’s little girl to while former-alcoholic Mommy raises her eyebrows in suspicion. It’s a silly story in the sense that not enough reason is given for all the extreme things Ester does when she does them, but it works well for what it is; essentially a psycho killer thriller.

my rating : 4 of 5

2009

video review : Orphan : First Kill