Unfortunately for them, Esther turns out to be a badly behaved little girl, one whose bad behaviour goes far beyond the normal bounds of childish mischief. Like a number of recent American films, this one was actually shot in Canada, presumably for financial reasons, but owing to the average American cinema-goer's lack of interest in anything that happens north of the forty-ninth parallel the film-makers were forced to pretend, through the use of Connecticut licence plates, that the action is taking place in New England.Īfter their third child is stillborn, John and Kate Coleman, adopt Esther a 9-year-old Russian girl, from the local orphanage. The expression "from Hell", incidentally, is not to be taken literally "Orphan" might start out like an unacknowledged remake of "The Omen", but the child's evil is explained by a plot twist which has nothing to do with Satan or the supernatural. In most films this stranger is an adult, but this film brings us the adopted-child-from-Hell.
The basic premise of such films is that the life of the protagonist is turned upside-down by the arrival of a stranger who initially seems friendly but who quickly turns out to be dangerous, generally a murderer or psychopath. "Orphan" is sometimes regarded as a horror film, but in my view it is an example of that sub-genre of the thriller which I have come to regard as the " from Hell" movie, a type of film which enjoyed great popularity in the late eighties and early nineties following the success of "Fatal Attraction". Reviewed by JamesHitchcock 6 / 10 Here Be Dragons Kate delves further into Esther's past and discovers she is not what she seems to be. Kate calls Sister Abigail at the orphanage, and the nun informs her that Esther has a troubled and mysterious history. John refuses to listen to his wife's misgivings. Eventually, Kate begins to feel that Esther is manipulative and possibly even psychologically damaged.
Their son, Daniel is hostile to his new sister, but their deaf mute daughter, Max is enchanted with her - at first. Marina Orphanage, they immediately fall in love with the well-educated orphan. When they meet 9-year-old Esther at the St.
Kate and John Coleman are rebuilding their troubled marriage after the loss of their baby.
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