Orphan is one of those rare horror films that is particularly difficult to know what to do with. This is perhaps the cause of its 55% fresh rating on RottenTomatoes.com. There is so much going on, in such a variety of ways, that relating the pros and cons almost becomes meaningless.
For some, a decidedly unnerving “thriller” with a lot of jumpy moments is just the thing on the right evening, and the fact that it plays out fairly ludicrously isn’t going to matter a bit. For others, “brilliantly bad,” is the kind of thing that makes a lot of sense, and moreover serves a wonderfully entertaining purpose. On the other side are those for whom the first, “Oh, come on,” is follow by an abrupt end to the affair, and the fact that Isabelle Fuhrman is genuinely creepy as all get out, isn’t going to make a difference.