After Kate and John adopt a young girl named Esther from an orphanage, Kate begins to suspect something is wrong with Esther. Strange events occur and Esther's behavior becomes violent and disturbing. Kate tries to convince her family and friends that Esther is dangerous, but they do not believe her warnings. It is soon revealed that Esther is not actually a child, but is mentally ill woman posing as a child. Kate must protect her family from the threat that Esther poses before it is too late.

2.  Orphan is about a young girl called Esther adopted by
parents Kate and John. The couple visits an orphanage
and immediately falls in love with 9 year old Esther.
However, Esther isn't as sweet as first impressions
suggest, and soon after welcoming the young child into
their home, Kate and John suspect that something is
terribly wrong with their adoptive daughter.
 Kate can see right through Esther's charm, and tries to
convince family and friends the truth about Esther. By the
time anyone bothers to take Kate seriously, it might be
too late to prevent a devastating tragedy from happening.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgxVIB2WuHU

3.  Genre: Mystery, thriller
 Characters: Happy family (parents
with children looking to adopt a
new family member)
 Innocent villains – A Nun plays
the part of a helper and tries to
help the family research the
orphan.
 The killer is young and is
appeared to be a child which
appears as innocent.
 Props: Childish, old fashioned
clothing. Chocker around her
neck. She uses weapons such as
knifes and stones.
 Location: A modern house next
to a lake and a field

6.  After Kate realises there is something wrong with Esther, she
informed the head of the orphanage where she was adopted
from and they warn her about being around Esther when
things go wrong and that she has a troubled and mysterious
history.
 Kate is increasingly convinced that Esther isn't who she
appears to be, especially when the orphanage calls her and
tells her that they can't find any record of the Russian
orphanage from where she came but no one believes her.
 Later that day Kate sneaks into Esther's room and looks
through her Bible. She discovers it came from a place called
the Saarne Institute. An internet search reveals that it is
located in Estonia. She calls the Institute and discovers that it
isn't an orphanage, but a mental institution.
 Kate is convinced that Esther is evil, but John and her
counsellor think that Kate is relapsing into her drinking habit.
Kate insists she isn't going crazy, but then John produces the
other bottle Kate bought the night before, saying Esther
found it. He threatens to leave her unless she gets help, and
fast.

7.  The age rating for this movie is 15
plus, therefore the target audience
for this movie is for teenagers/young
adults.
 Orphan is psychological/supernatural
horror movie which appeals to the
target audience.
 What some viewers thought about
the rating:
 “Parents need to know that this is a
review of the movie shown in
theatres and not the unrated version
with an alternate ending available on
DVD. Parents also need to know that
this gory horror movie centres on
extremely violent, sexual acts carried
out by a 9-year-old girl. While the
film's ultimate twist negates some of
the queasy, sleazy feeling that comes
from watching this kind of material,
the bulk of the movie revolves
around the shock value of seeing a
child doing horrible things. Plus,
there's lots of swearing (including "f--
k" and "s--t"), as well as smoking,
drinking, and sexual scenes between
adults.”

8. “Dark, edgy, twisted,
effective, clever, intense,
and blackly comic - one of
the best "evil child" films
I've seen. It's brilliantly
cast.”
“Excellent directing - superb
editing - great cast = good
acting 2) Well-scripted plot that
makes sense - and contributed
to believable characters 3)
Above-average good quality
production 4) ...made me grip
and squirm in my seat 5)”
“As an 'older' adopted child, I would like to state that
this movie is incredibly offensive. It is a disgusting
exploitation of children who are in the foster care
system under no fault of their own. Not to mention
the poor young girl who portrayed 'Esther', and the
potential for trauma experienced in playing that
role.”

9.  By watching the film, the audience, becomes
aware of the genre and sub genre as the
middle part of the trailer kicks in. When we
see Esther become violent in the toilet, and
screaming, the action then cuts to a strap
reading ‘I think there is something wrong
with Esther’. It is written in black and white,
colours associated with purity and evil,
common themes in horror.
 This is a psychological horror film as one of
the main conventions you see in these types
of horror are that they include a troubled,
disturbed individual (also the use of a child).
 Typical settings that we see in psychological
horror films are used. For example, two
different types of schools are used, a big
house in an isolated setting and a hospital.
 Common sounds/ music such as scary music
that is played during the film includes
screams and high pitched. Also, some general
conventions that we see are that there are no
deaths shown on screen and the victim
appears, at first, and in terms of her physical
appearance, to be normal.

10.  Settings/ backgrounds are used throughout
this trailer to create realism. The typical
conventions that we see in any psychological
horror film are also shown in this film. For
example, schools are a common convention
of a psychological horror film and we see
two different schools in different locations.
This could be because of the fact that the
killer has had a bad childhood and wants to
seek revenge on other children/ teenagers,
for example.
 Also, the main setting is in the family’s
home which is the most common setting for
any horror film of any sub genre. This could
be because the audience are therefore able
to picture themselves in this situation and
would therefore be more thrilling.
 We see a hospital and a park and these
types of setting simply create realism. In one
scene in the park, where Esther spots the
girl that bullied her about the way she
dressed, we see her follow the girl up to the
top of one of the play instruments where
she appears to push her off. A shot is then
shown of Esther at the top, looking powerful
and dominant, due to the low angle camera
shot.
 Esther’s dark, old-fashioned costume and
the shape of her hat give her a witch-like
appearance that leads us to see her as evil,
sinister and a danger to innocent children.

11.  At the beginning of the trailer, facial
expressions and body language is calm and
happy. All the characters are smiling, the
mother and father have welcoming eyes, and all
the children, even Esther, representing the
innocence of children in general.
 However, later on, body language becomes
more closed, facial expressions become
stronger and our view on the character of
Esther begins to change. We see Esther giving
evil stares and at some points, evil smiles, like
she has a cunning plan on how to destroy this
mother’s family. The scene where Esther is in
the toilet, her facial expressions and body
language is angry and violent which reflects her
character. Other characters in the trailer such as
the other young children, the mother and the
father, towards the end of the trailer, there
facial expressions too, begin to change.
 They all have fear in their eyes and they look
confused as to why this is happening to them.
The other young child looks innocent and
defenceless against the evil of her adopted
sister who is steering her into several ‘death
traps’. As an audience, they begin to feel sorry
for the family and worry about their survival.

12.  When looking at lighting and colours that are used
throughout this movie, there is a gradual change
from the beginning to the end. For example, there is
a range of bright colours on show to the audience
e.g. when Esther is painting, there are a lot of
colours on the page. This makes it unclear at the
beginning of what type of genre that this film
belongs to as the child and family look happy and
normal. Ambient lighting is being used which makes
the atmosphere appear bright and normal.
 However later on in the movie, Esther is in the toilet
kicking and screaming and the lighting and colours
begin to change as they become darker. This
suggests to the audience that there has been a
change in emotion, and everything is no longer
‘normal’. Lighting and colours only become darker
and sometimes the effect is almost black and white.
This could suggest the contrast of characters, the
black representing the evil inside Esther, and the
white representing the innocence of the other
children and the mother in the film.
 Skies become grey and stay that way until the trailer
ends which creates a gloomy and evil atmosphere.
The use of fire in the film trailer also suggests evil as
fire is a symbol from ‘hell’.
 Lightning is used in the scene where Esther is
standing over her ‘step sister’s’ bed whilst she
sleeps. This again creates a sense of evil and a villain
like feeling, and we can then tell that something is
going to happen.

13.  In this film, the combination of Diegetic and Non Diegetic Sound is used to create
fear, excitement and anticipation for the audience. Diegetic sound has been used
in this film trailer to help aid the target audience’s understanding of the narrative.
For example, towards the middle of the trailer, when our understanding of the
narrative should become more detailed and clear, we hear the mother’s voice say
“I think there is something wrong with Esther”. Immediately, the target audience
are aware that something bad is going to happen and that Esther isn’t the child we
first thought to be kind and ‘normal’.
 Also, Esther says “I guess I am different” to the mother, so even from the
beginning, even if we didn’t think it straight away, the audience become aware
that this is no ordinary child. During the climax , dialogue becomes mainly screams
and shouting e.g. the mother on numerous occasions shouts out “What did you
do!” “What are you doing?!” and so on. This then makes it apparent to the target
audience that the family are in trouble and that Esther is the one causing the
trouble. Esther’s scream, on the other hand, is spine chilling and signals her
disturbed mental state, again confirming that there is ‘something wrong’ with this
child.
 Realism is created by the sounds that are used that we would hear normally in our
day to day lives e.g. the school bell, the sound of a car engine and so on.

14.  Non Diegetic Sound has been used in this trailer to create a sense of fear and
suspense. The sounds/music excites the target audience and makes them want to
know what happens next, thus making them want to go and watch the film.
 A light melody is being played on a piano which contradicts the genre of the film.
However, the music becomes more eerie and the tempo builds up which suggests
to the target audience that the action/ horror is about to take place.
 During the climax, there is a sharp beat that gradually gets louder and louder,
which builds suspense and excitement for the audience. Contrapuntal music, in
the form of a child singing ‘The Glory of Love’, is played at the end which makes
the scene seem creepy and disturbed. Also, a heartbeat sound is being played,
gradually speeding up, whilst the action gets faster and faster on screen. This
could suggest the fact that the family are trying to run away from the orphan
because she is causing them all this distress. It is also likely to mimic the increase
in the audience’s heartbeat as their excitement levels grow. This effect could
create tension and suspense for the audience, building them up and up, before
they know that they must go and see the film when it hits the cinema.

15.  The speed of editing starts off slowly before gradually becoming faster and faster. This type of editing builds up
tension and creates suspense and also adds excitement for the audience. It does this because when it starts
slowly, you are able to get a clear understanding of the basic narrative, then as the speed builds up more and
more on the action scenes, it prepares the audience for a final burst of action at the end. Not only does this
speed and style of the trailer create excitement and suspense, but it also creates fear and a sense of eeriness
that makes the audience jump out of their skins.
 Dead black outs are a popular type of fade used throughout this film which creates effect for a number of
reasons. One of the main reasons as to why film makers use dead black outs in their film trailers is to build
tension and excitement. They create an impact when watching the film trailer and simply help to create a clear
transition from one piece of action to the next. Other reasons why dead black outs are used, especially in this
particular film trailer, is to create an erratic sense of terror that complements the action on screen. For example,
during the film trailer for the ‘Orphan’, towards the end, there is a fast climax of pieces of footage that are being
used, from different parts of the scene, dead black outs are used here because it makes the action that is
happening on screen look more panic-filled, anxiety-ridden and terrifying.
 Also, this could reflect Esther’s erratic sense of mind, as we appear to be looking at the action through Esther’s
eyes, the dead black outs could be seen to symbolise her eyes, blinking as she watches the terror she has
caused. During the film, a white screen appears with the strap written in black. This could reflect Esther’s
exterior e.g. her pale, innocent face, contrasting with her thick, dark, black hair. Also, this could symbolise her
image; where at the start, we assume she is an innocent child (the white background) but then we find out that
she isn’t as innocent as we thought, and that she has an evil side (the black writing). The white could also reflect
her ghostly, eerie image, even more so as the white fades in and out. Due to the fact that the dead black outs
are used a lot, the white background therefore stands out more and grabs the audience’s attention which is why
the strap on the white background is so effective.
 A shallow focus is used where the park swings are swinging back and forth; this creates an eerie illusion as it
looks blurry and paranormal.
 An eye line match is used in the scene in the classroom, where another student is commenting on the way that
Esther is dressed. We then see the a reaction shot from Esther where instead of looking upset, like any normal
young girl would, she has the look of evil in her eyes which is the first time we see the first glimpse of evil
shining through her innocent exterior.

16.  The film's content, murderous adopted person, has not been well received by the
adoption community. The controversy has already caused filmmakers to change a
line in one of their trailers from "It must be difficult to love an adopted child as
much as your own," to "I don’t think Mommy likes me very much.“
 Melissa Fay Greene of The Daily Beast commented: "The movie Orphan comes
directly from this unexamined place in popular culture. Esther’s shadowy past
includes Eastern Europe; she appears normal and sweet, but quickly turns violent
and cruel, especially toward her mother. These are clichés. This is the baggage
with which we saddle abandoned, orphaned, or disabled children given a fresh
start at family life.”
 Critical reaction to Orphan has been mixed, with the film earning a rating of 56%
(43% among the Top Critics) on Rotten Tomatoes,[6] where the consensus is:
"While it has moments of dark humour Orphan fails to build on its interesting
premise and degenerates into a formulaic, sleazy horror/thriller".

17.  http://www.tribute.ca/interviews/isabelle-fuhrman-orphan/star/33161/
 http://www.movieweb.com/movie/orphan/isabella-fuhrman-interview
 http://www.movieweb.com/movie/orphan/vera-farmiga-interview
 http://www.movieweb.com/movie/orphan/peter-sarsgaard-interview