Orphan

Horror
3 stars
Passable suspense thriller about a seemingly sweet adoptee who is really an evil little b-err- witch. Peter Sarsgaard (Jarhead, Flightplan, Skeleton Key) and Vera Farmiga (Running Scared, Boy in the Striped Pajamas) star as the parents and Isabelle Furman is the evil child. It’s not really that scary, though there are a couple of nasty murders. I was most worried about the welfare of the orphan’s two new siblings. This movie starts out with those scare tactics that fake you out and they occur long before the orphan is even introduced! You know, the usual: buildup of creepy music, the camera angles of someone seemingly sneaking up behind, the bathroom medicine cabinet closing and you expect a scary face to appear in the mirror. But of course there is nothing to be afraid of yet. If you are thinking of bringing a child, keep in mind there are a couple of sex scenes. The orphan was effectively creepy, but the big surprise ending was pretty underwhelming and extremely unlikely (it would have been more believable if she were Satan's spawn). A decent movie, but I liked the classic movie The Bad Seed better.