I caught a free screening of Orphan last week. It was one of those horror movies that is kinda creepy but also quite silly, and there were more than a few unintentional laughs throughout (like the psychiatrist with a window overlooking a meat processing plant).

The movie also tried to be clever and trick you constantly. It would set up an audio cue and frame the picture in a way to suggest it is about to jump scare you, but then it doesn’t follow through, or reveals that there is no threat. It was quite amusing the first few times, but by the end of the film it is so overplayed it becomes predictable.

The phone call that sets up the final act also was a bit too convenient and explained a bit too much. Nevertheless, the child actors used were all fantastic, particularly the one who played the deaf girl. If the story had a bit more meat to it and the director wasn’t so keen on tricking you with fake scares then it could have been great. As it is, it is pretty much just okay. Better than the standard horror fare these days, but not significantly so.