''Orphan'' is a 2009

psychological horror Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequently overlaps with the related subge ...

film directed by

Jaume Collet-Serra Jaume Collet-Serra (; born 23 March 1974) is a Spanish-American film director and producer. He directed the horror films '' House of Wax'' (2005), '' Orphan'' (2009), and '' The Shallows'' (2016), as well as the Liam Neeson-led thriller films '' ...

and written by

David Leslie Johnson David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick ( né Johnson) is an American screenwriter and producer of film and television. Early life Johnson began writing plays in the second grade and wrote his first screenplay at age nineteen after graduating from Le ...

from a story by Alex Mace. The film stars

Vera Farmiga Vera Ann Farmiga ( ; born August 6, 1973) is an American actress who is best known for portraying paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren in the Conjuring Universe films ''The Conjuring'' (2013), ''The Conjuring 2'' (2016), ''Annabelle Comes ...

Peter Sarsgaard John Peter Sarsgaard (; born March 7, 1971) is an American actor. His first feature role was in '' Dead Man Walking'' in 1995. He then appeared in the 1998 independent films ''Another Day in Paradise'' and ''Desert Blue''. That same year, Sarsga ...

Isabelle Fuhrman Isabelle Fuhrman (born February 25, 1997) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Esther in the horror film ''Orphan'' (2009) and its prequel '' Orphan: First Kill'' (2022). She also portrayed Clove in the dystopian adventure film ' ...

CCH Pounder Carol Christine Hilaria Pounder (born December 25, 1952) is a Guyanese-American actress. She has received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her roles in ''The X-Files'', '' ER'', '' The Shield'', and ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agenc ...

and Jimmy Bennett. The plot centers on a couple who, after the death of their unborn child, adopt a psychopathic nine-year-old girl with a mysterious past. The film is an

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companie ...

between the United States, Canada, Germany and France. It was produced by

Joel Silver Joel Silver (born July 14, 1952) is an American film producer. Life and career Silver was born and raised in South Orange, New Jersey, the son of a writer and a public relations executive. His family is Jewish. He attended Columbia High School i ...

and

Susan Downey Susan Nicole Downey (née Levin; born November 6, 1973) is an American film producer. Until February 2009, she was co-president of Dark Castle Entertainment and executive vice president of production at Silver Pictures, Joel Silver's production ...

Dark Castle Entertainment Dark Castle Entertainment is an American film production label and a division of Silver Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, It was formed in 1998 by Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis, and Gilbert Adler. Susan Downey was the Vice President of Develop ...

, and Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran of Appian Way Productions.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as ...

for the film took place in Canada, in the cities of St. Thomas,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Port Hope, and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

. ''Orphan'' was released in the United States on July 24, 2009, by

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of li ...

. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its dark humor, scares and Fuhrman's performance as Esther, but criticized its formulaic screenplay, uneven pacing and two-hour runtime. The film grossed $78 million worldwide against a $20 million budget. A prequel, titled '' Orphan: First Kill'', was released in 2022, with Fuhrman reprising her role.

Plot

Kate and John Coleman's marriage is strained after the

stillbirth Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The term ...

of their third child, Jessica, whose loss is particularly hard on Kate who is a recovering alcoholic. She and John decide to adopt a 9-year-old

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

girl, Esther, from St. Mariana's Home for Girls, a local orphanage. Their 5-year-old deaf daughter, Max, embraces Esther, but their 12-year-old son, Daniel, is less welcoming. One night, Kate and John begin to have sex until Esther interrupts them. Kate becomes suspicious when Esther expresses far more knowledge of sex than expected of a child her age. Esther then exhibits hostile behavior in front of Max and Daniel, such as

killing Killing, Killings, or The Killing may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Killing'' (film), a 2018 Japanese film * ''The Killing'' (film), a 1956 film noir directed by Stanley Kubrick Television * ''The Killing'' (Danish TV serie ...

an injured pigeon and badly injuring a classmate who was bullying her. Sister Abigail, the head of the orphanage, visits the household, warning Kate and John that tragic events and incidents occur around Esther, including the house fire that killed her last adoptive family. When Sister Abigail leaves, Esther causes her to crash her car on the road and then bludgeons her to death with a hammer. She forces Max to help her move the body and then hides the evidence in Daniel's treehouse. Daniel sees them at the treehouse, and later that night, she interrogates him about what he saw, threatening to

castrate Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which an individual loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical castration uses pharmace ...

him if he tells Kate and John. As Kate becomes further convinced about Esther's unusual behavior, John believes she is being paranoid and tells Esther to do something nice for Kate. Esther rips out the flowers from Jessica's grave and gives them to Kate as a bouquet. Kate is horrified and roughly grabs Esther's arm in distress, asserting that she did this on purpose. That night, Esther breaks her own arm and falsely blames Kate, causing further strife in Kate and John's marriage. The next day, Esther releases the brake in the car, causing it to roll into oncoming traffic with Max inside. She also points out the wine she found in the kitchen, causing John and Kate's therapist to suggest Kate returns to rehab, with John threatening to leave her and take the children if she refuses. Kate discovers that Esther came from an Estonian

mental hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

named the Saarne Institute, and the orphanage she claims she was from has no record of her. When Daniel learns about Sister Abigail's death from Max and searches the treehouse, Esther sets it on fire and attempts to kill him but is thwarted by Max. Daniel is seriously injured, and while in the hospital in ICU, Esther tries to smother him to death with a pillow, but doctors revive him. Kate, enraged, slaps Esther before she is restrained and sedated. That night, Esther dresses provocatively and attempts to seduce John, who threatens to send Esther back to the orphanage after realizing Kate had been right about Esther's behavior. At the hospital, Kate is contacted by Dr. Värava of the Saarne Instituute and learns that Esther is actually a 33-year-old woman named Leena Klammer, born in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...

. She has

hypopituitarism Hypopituitarism is the decreased (''hypo'') secretion of one or more of the eight hormones normally produced by the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. If there is decreased secretion of one specific pituitary hormone, the condition is know ...

, a rare hormonal disorder that stunted her physical growth and caused proportional dwarfism, and she has spent most of her life posing as a little girl. Leena is violent and has murdered at least seven people, including the last family that adopted her. After failing to seduce her adoptive father, Leena removes the ribbons she was wearing around her wrists and neck, which have been hiding scars from trying to break out of

straitjackets A straitjacket is a garment shaped like a jacket with long sleeves that surpass the tips of the wearer's fingers. Its most typical use is restraining people who may cause harm to themselves or others. Once the wearer slides their arms into the ...

during her time at the asylum. Leena removes her disguise and stabs John to death. Kate rushes home, and Leena attempts to shoot her, wounding her arm. After Leena opens fire on Max, Kate breaks through the greenhouse roof and knocks Leena unconscious. Kate and Max flee as police arrive, but Leena attacks Kate near the frozen pond, hurling them onto the ice. Max tries to shoot Leena but shatters the ice instead, sending Leena and Kate underwater. Kate begins to climb out, with Leena clinging to her legs. Leena reverts to her Esther persona, begging "Mommy" not to let her die with a knife hidden behind her back. Kate retorts angrily that she is not Leena's mother and kicks her in the face, breaking her neck. Leena's body sinks into the dark pond as Kate and Max are met by the police.

Cast

as Kate Coleman *

as John Coleman *

as Esther *

as Sister Abigail * Jimmy Bennett as Daniel Coleman *

Aryana Engineer Aryana Engineer (born March 6, 2001) is a Canadian actress who made her debut in the 2009 horror film ''Orphan'', as a little girl named Max, alongside Vera Farmiga. In 2012 she starred, alongside Milla Jovovich, as Becky in '' Resident Evil: Retr ...

as Maxine "Max" Coleman *

Margo Martindale Margo Martindale (born July 18, 1951) is an American character actress who has appeared on television, film, and stage. In 2011, she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award for her recurring role as Mags Bennett on '' ...

as Dr. Browning *

Karel Roden Karel Roden (born 18 May 1962) is a Czech actor, popularly known for his roles in ''Hellboy'' and '' The Bourne Supremacy'', and his voice work in ''Grand Theft Auto IV''. Life and career Roden followed his father and grandfather into acting. ...

as Dr. Värava *

Rosemary Dunsmore Rosemary Dunsmore (born July 13, 1952) is a Canadian TV, film, and theatre actress, director, and educator. She was awarded a Dora Mavor Moore Award for her 1982 performance in ''Straight Ahead/Blind Dancers''. In 2009 she won the ACTRA Award f ...

as Barbara Coleman *

Genelle Williams Genelle Williams (born February 18, 1984) is a Canadian actress who is best known for her roles as Kim Carlisle in ''Radio Free Roscoe'', as DJ in ''The Latest Buzz'', and as the innkeeper Leena in ''Warehouse 13''. Career Acting in high school ...

as Sister Judith * Lorry Ayers as Joyce * Brendan Wall as Detective * Jamie Young as Brenda * Landon Norris as Austin * Mustafa Abdelkarim as Trevor

Production

and

were cast in main roles in late November 2007.

for the film took place in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, in the cities of St. Thomas,

, Port Hope, and

. Esther (Leena Klammer) of Estonia was inspired by the May 2007 media coverage of 34-year-old Barbora Skrlová, an orphan who abused her first adoptive family and ran away from the police when caught. She eventually was found impersonating Adam, a thirteen-year-old boy who had gone missing.

Release

Theatrical

''Orphan'' had its world premiere in

Westwood, Los Angeles Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside region of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Bordering the campus on the south ...

on July 21, 2009. The following day, it screened at the

Fantasia International Film Festival Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcor ...

, Canada. The film was released theatrically in North America on July 24, 2009. It was then released in the United Kingdom on August 7, 2009 by

Optimum Releasing StudioCanal Limited, operating as StudioCanal (formerly Optimum Releasing), is the official branch of StudioCanal in the British Isles. The company releases many films, including foreign, anime (mostly Studio Ghibli), independent, art, British, ...

Home media

''Orphan'' was released on DVD and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

on October 27, 2009 in the United States by

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

and in the United Kingdom on November 27, 2009 by Optimum Releasing. The DVD includes deleted scenes, and the alternate ending. The opening previews also contain a

public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

describing the plight of unadopted children in the United States and encouraging domestic adoption.

Reception

Box office

The film opened in the 4th spot at the box office, making a total of $12.8 million, behind ''

G-Force The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measur ...

'', ''

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the sixth and penultimate novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. Set during Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, the novel explores t ...

'', and ''

The Ugly Truth ''The Ugly Truth'' is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Robert Luketic, written by Nicole Eastman, Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, and starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler. The film was released in North America on ...

''. The film went on to gross a worldwide total of $78.3 million.

Critical response

On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 57% based on 157 reviews, with an average rating of 5.60/10. The website's critics consensus read, "While it has moments of dark humor and the requisite scares, ''Orphan'' fails to build on its interesting premise and degenerates into a formulaic, sleazy horror/thriller." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

the film has a weighted average score of 42 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...

'' gave ''Orphan'' 3 stars out of 4, writing: "After seeing 'Orphan,' I now realize that Damien of 'The Omen' was a model child. The Demon Seed was a bumper crop. Rosemary would have been happy to have this baby. Here is a shamelessly effective horror film based on the most diabolical of movie malefactors, a child. You want a good horror film about a child from hell, you got one."

Mick LaSalle Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form ( hypocorism) of Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a derogatory term for an Irish person or a person of Irish descent. In Australia the meaning broad ...

of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...

'' also gave a positive review, commenting: "''Orphan'' provides everything you might expect in a psycho-child thriller, but with such excess and exuberance that it still has the power to surprise." Todd McCarthy of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' was less impressed, writing: "Teasingly enjoyable rubbish through the first hour, ''Orphan'' becomes genuine trash during its protracted second half."

Manohla Dargis Manohla June Dargis () is an American film critic. She is one of the chief film critics for ''The New York Times''. She is a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Career Before being a film critic for ''The New York Times'', ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote: "Actors have to eat like the rest of us, if evidently not as much, but you still have to wonder how the

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

mainstays

and

ended up wading through ''Orphan'' and, for the most part, not laughing."

Owen Gleiberman Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for '' Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...

of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' gave the film a D+ score, noting: "''Orphan'' isn't scary – it's garish and plodding." Keith Phipps from '' The A.V. Club'' wrote: "If director

set out to make a parody of horror film clichés, he succeeded brilliantly."

Accolades

This film won the ''International Feature Length Competition Golden Raven'' at the 2010

Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF), previously named Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film (french: Festival international du film fantastique de Bruxelles, nl, Internationaal Festival van de Fantastische Fil ...

. It was also nominated ''Choice Summer Movie: Drama'' at the 2009

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United ...

Controversy

The film's content, depicting a murderous adoptee, was not well received by adoption groups. The controversy caused filmmakers to change a line in one of their trailers from: Melissa Fay Greene of ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

'' commented: There is a pro-adoption service message on the DVD, advising viewers to consider adoption.

Prequel

In February 2020, development of a prequel film was announced, titled ''Esther'', with

William Brent Bell William Brent Bell is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is known for his work on horror films such as '' Stay Alive'' (2006), '' The Devil Inside'' (2012), '' Wer'' (2013), '' The Boy'' (2016), '' Brahms: The Boy II'' (20 ...

signed on as director from a script by David Coggeshall. The project will be a joint-venture between

eOne Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television s ...

and

and will be distributed by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

under its

Players Players may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Players'' (1979 film), a film starring Ali MacGraw * ''Players'' (2012 film), a Bollywood film * ''Players'' (Dicks novel), a novel by Terrance Dicks, based on the television series ''Doc ...

division. Alex Mace, Hal Sadoff, Ethan Erwin and James Tomlinson will produce the film, with

as an executive producer. Production was set to begin summer 2020. In October 2020,

Julia Stiles Julia O'Hara Stiles (born March 28, 1981) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Stiles began acting at the age of 11 as part of New York's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. Her film debut was a small role in ''I'' ''Love Yo ...

said she was about to start working on the film. In November, the title was changed to ''Orphan: First Kill'', with Isabelle Fuhrman returning to star in the film. The film was released on August 19, 2022.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Orphan (film) 2009 films 2009 horror films 2009 psychological thriller films 2000s English-language films 2000s horror thriller films 2000s mystery horror films 2000s mystery thriller films 2000s psychological horror films 2000s serial killer films American horror thriller films American mystery horror films American mystery thriller films American psychological horror films American psychological thriller films American serial killer films American Sign Language films Appian Way Productions films Canadian horror thriller films Canadian mystery thriller films Canadian psychological horror films Canadian psychological thriller films Canadian serial killer films Dark Castle Entertainment films English-language Canadian films English-language French films English-language German films Films about adoption Films about families Films about orphans Films directed by Jaume Collet-Serra Films produced by Joel Silver Films produced by Leonardo DiCaprio Films scored by John Ottman Films set in Connecticut Films shot in Montreal Films shot in Toronto Films with screenplays by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick French horror thriller films French mystery thriller films French psychological horror films French psychological thriller films French serial killer films German horror thriller films German mystery thriller films German psychological thriller films German serial killer films Warner Bros. films 2000s American films 2000s Canadian films 2000s French films 2000s German films