2009 psychological horror movie Orphan hasn’t exactly aged well, as it continues to draw backlash from adoption communities. The film was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by David Leslie Johnson from a story by Alex Mace. The story centers on Kate (Vera Farmiga) and John Coleman (Peter Sarsgaard), a couple who decide to adopt a child following the death of their unborn child.
John and Kate end up adopting Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman), a mysterious nine-year-old Russian girl, from the local orphanage. The Colemans’ daughter, 5-year-old deaf and mute Max, warms to Esther quickly. Their 12-year-old son Daniel is less welcoming. Of course, Esther goes on to wreak havoc upon the Coleman family. She demonstrates hostile behavior, like killing a bird and hurting a classmate, and eventually things get much, much worse.
True to its horror movie background, there’s a horrific twist: Esther isn’t actually a child. She’s a 33-year-old woman with a rare disorder that makes her look young. Orphan reveals that she has murdered multiple people, including the head of the orphanage and, eventually, John Coleman himself.
Orphan: How The Horror Movie Angered Real Adoption Groups
![Orphan: Why The Horror Movie Angered Real Adoption Groups](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Orphan-2009.jpg)
“Esther’s” hostile, violent actions are what sparked backlash from actual adoption groups. Many suggested that depicting a murderous adoptee in a big-budget movie was harmful to actual orphans and foster children looking to find families. While critics praised the acting and style of the movie, they spoke out against the cliché of an apparently sweet, quiet girl turning cruel and even scary. “We are concerned that in addition to its intended entertainment value, this film will have the unintended effect of skewing public opinion against children awaiting families both in the United States and abroad,” wrote the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute in a letter co-signed by leaders of numerous adoption and child welfare groups. The letter went on to explain that anti-adoption sentiments in popular culture could impede efforts to unite foster children and orphans with new families.
In response to this backlash, the Orphan filmmakers changed a controversial line in one of the 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”. Additionally, Warner Bros. ended up including a pro-adoption PSA on the DVD release of the movie, advising viewers to consider adopting a child. With this in mind, perhaps the upcoming prequel, Esther, will take a different approach to handling the topic of adoption.
Should Orphan really have received this kind of backlash? After all, it is a horror movie, and as such, specifically meant to entertain audiences and serve them scares, even if they’re sometimes ridiculous. Plus, the movie probably didn’t sway any people from adopting children—what are the chances the adoptee would be a murderous 33-year-old? Adoption groups criticizing this movie recalls how the clown community was upset over the portrayal of Twisty the Clown in Ryan Murphy’s horror anthology show, American Horror Story. Ultimately, horror movies often draw from elements of real life from overt adaptations of true crimes to adding a sinister edge to the more mundane, like adoption; movie watchers might need to learn to not take horror flicks so literally.