If you suffer from pedophobia, that is fear of children, "Orphan" won't leave you sleeping any easier at night. This creepy tale about an evil adopted daughter who terrorizes her new family will make future parents reconsider adoption.

John and Kate live a pampered life in rural Connecticut. The wealth that comes with John's job as an architect shows in their family's elaborate home, fancy cars, and other expensive possessions.

Despite their money, a great deal of stress lies below the surface of John and Kate's marriage. The death of their unborn third child Jessica sent Kate's life spiraling out of control.

Kate became an alcoholic as a coping mechanism, which only led to further misfortune. During one of her drinking binges, Kate passed out watching her daughter Max. As a result, Max suffered an accident which caused loss of her hearing.

Haunted by the nightmares of Jessica's death and plagued with feeling of inadequacy as a mother, Kate is reminded of her mistakes every day as she uses sign language to communicate with Max. Her emotional distress has led to a loss of intimacy in her marriage and a strain on her relationship with John. After months of therapy and recovery, Kate and John decide the best way to bring normalcy and stability into their lives is to adopt a child.

When John and Kate visit the orphanage they form a strong bond with Esther, a precocious Russian girl, who is very mature for her age, but doesn't seem to fit in well with the other children. Shortly thereafter, the couple welcomes Esther into their home as a sister to Max and her older brother Daniel.

It's not long after Esther comes home, that her new family starts to notice something isn't quite right with the little girl. She has an outburst at school where she screams angrily at her classmates, but the trouble surrounding her starts to progress to higher levels. Esther starts committing violent acts like pushing a classmate off the playground and crushing a pigeon with a stone.

Befriending Max by learning sign language, Esther makes her an accessory to the evil acts that she commits, using threats and intimidation to keep both Max and Daniel silent to their parents about her wrongdoings. Kate notices Esther's bad streak and tries to call her husband's attention to it. However John continually refuses to believe his wife, even after a visit from the head of the orphanage Sister Abigail, warning them of Esther's shady and dangerous past.

After listening in on Sister Abigail's warning, Esther's behavior goes off the deep end. She starts trying to kill and injure those around her. Daniel is hospitalized after he falls from his burning tree house, and Kate is hospitalized for attacking Esther, who she knows caused the fire.

In the hospital, Kate receives a call explaining why Esther is so evil-without giving away details, it is a fascinating twist. Let's just say there's no need to feel bad for what happens to Esther after that.

Kate escapes from the hospital and races home to stop Esther before she brings harm to Max and John. The showdown between Kate and Esther is intense. Like other movie killers who meet their demise, Esther's comeuppance is incredibly gratifying. The audience in the theater burst into ecstatic applause when Kate delivered the crushing blow.

Performances by the actors in the film are solid. Vera Farmiga plays the part of a haunted woman suspicious of Esther's intentions convincingly, and Peter Sarsgaard does an excellent job playing the oblivious, unsuspecting husband. Jimmy Bennett is the spitting image of the suburban spoiled brat Daniel, and Aryana Engineer says a great deal more with her face as Max than she ever could with words.

The strongest performance however is Isabelle Fuhrman, who gives Esther a seemingly innocent, and strangely matter of fact diabolical attitude. As the film carries on, Fuhrman does superb job of letting Esther's façade melt away, to reveal the pure unadulterated evil underneath.

Image © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Foley work in the film is extremely well done; sounds match actions smoothly, and they are eerily placed in a way that makes your skin crawl. One such sound specifically is the squeak of the mirror on the bathroom medicine cabinet as it opens and closes.

Moments without sound are equally well captured, showing what it's like for Max, who cannot hear. Audiences can feel Max's terror not being able to hear any sounds around her when her life is in danger.

At points "Orphan" can be visually bright, capturing the beauty but also fear and isolation that come during the winter time, from the snow. There are great sequences that capture the terror of the character being followed. A stand out is Esther's classmate as she nervously treads through the playscape before she is pushed off the top. It's easy to get inside her skin and to feel her anxiety about an attack she knows could come at any moment.

Normally I don't really care for horror movies. I barely watch them on DVD, and I almost never see them in theaters. I will admit though that I found "Orphan" to be a thoroughly entertaining and entirely creepy film. If "Orphan" can make me a fan, horror junkies will enjoy this one for sure.

My grade: A-


Story by Starpulse contributing writer Evan Crean, a movie trivia guru and trailer addict with a practically photographic memory of actors and directors. Get a first look at the movies premiering each week, which which ones will be worth your $10, which ones you should wait to rent and which ones aren't worth your time.