GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Curt Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Michael_Elliott The Orphan (1979)** (out of 4)After the sudden death of his beloved father, David (Mark Owens) goes to stay with family members where he struggles to fit in and understand why he has no parents. Before long he starts suffering bad headaches and soon he thinks they might be causing him to murder.I had never heard of this film until I read Stephen Thrower's Nightmare USA where this was covered. This here is basically a movie that tries to fit into the art-house market so if you're expecting some sort of slasher or graphic horror movie then you're going to be disappointed. As long as you go into the film knowing what you're getting then you're going to find a flawed but well-made picture.The film is actually well-made and the direction by John Ballard is more than respectable. This film is basically taking a look at a kid suffering from his mother's death and then having to deal with the death of his father. THe horror elements are certainly here but they are pretty much in the background because the main focus is the mental state of this kid and what impact being an orphan might have on him.Technically speaking the film is impressive as it looks quite good and we're also given some good performances. Owens is quite good as the young child and he at least helps you stayed glued to what's going on. The biggest problem with THE ORPHAN is the fact that it's just too slow and too dull in spots to fully keep you entertained. This is one of those movies where it's easy to respect what the filmmakers were able to do but by the time the movie is over you really weren't all that entertained.

Coventry The best compliment I can possibly give to "Friday the 13th: The Orphan" is that it's somewhat the grim and zero-budgeted exploitation version of the timeless genre classic "The Innocents". Surely it's a lot less stylish and atmospheric (what did you expect?), but the themes and general creepiness of both films are definitely similar. The problem, however, was that I totally didn't expect this to be such a film! With the two typically horrific terms "Friday 13th" and "The Orphan" in one title, the last thing I was preparing for was a slow-moving 1930's drama with coming-of-age influences and lectures on African culture. Still I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this film to explorers of obscure horror/cult cinema, just because it's so odd and unusual. There's very moody music during the opening credits, depicting a collage of pictures of a happy and seemingly unworried family. Of course, knowing the title this is only intended to increase the drama-effect. And yes, straight after the opening credits, the young boy from the photographs – David – is forced to kiss his dead father on the day of his funeral, while the obnoxious cousin yells: "ha ha, now you're an orphan!". After the funeral of his parents, David's aunt Martha invites herself to take custody over the boy. The relationship with Martha does't go too well, but David at least becomes close with her servants and turns more and more to the sinister African relics that his father brought back from his many trips. As said already, "Friday the 13th: The Orphan" is a very slow-paced and overly talkative cult effort. The drama sequences are quite intense, like the funeral sequence and David's flashbacks about his father (for example, the scene where he learns that his father – and indirectly also his mother – died in a stupidly banal accident), but it takes ages before something significantly unsettling happens. The first authentic exploitation movie murder only occurs at about 68 minutes into the film! More than one hour wait for a gritty murder moment is just unacceptable and dull. And, sadly, that's exactly how I'll always remember this film: dull.

stephendellabarca This movie is not bad but is affected by a low budget and a few bad actors (namely David's mother) and also the lack of murders (only two). Written and directed by an almost unknown director (John Ballard). This movie was played in very few cinemas and has not been released on DVD (only VHS and VCD). This movie is also known as Friday 13th: The Orphan and was made before the endless Friday the 13th series. This movie does did not generate a very good profit and was poorly received by critics (if any bothered to review the film at all) and can be found mostly at the bottom of the "Bargain bin" h It Wain't excellent but it was okay. h h h H

EyeAskance THE ORPHAN is a professionally wielded film with a few decent performances(the youngster in the title role most notably), and it certainly doesn't merit a critical belting in response to its basic efficiencies. What I personally found off-putting was its bland self-possession...this is actually less a horror film than a vague, drawn-out mystery with a lot of red herring "coming of age" infusion. It has something to do with a pubescent boy being put in the hands of his difficile, prohibitive aunt following the demise of his parents, and the gradual expedition of his potentially lethal hostilities. The proceedings are dusted with moments of fever-dreamy surrealism, and take place in a time around the Great Depression(stylistic details to that effect are surprisingly impressive). I wanted to like this film, and I did appreciate its inveigling directorial uniqueness, but it's so dull it couldn't saw through sand...there's a scant minutiae of bloodletting and scares, and frankly, it's not nearly as cleverly devised as it thinks it is. There's not much about THE ORPHAN which would classify as "marketable"...it's basically just a purposefully packaged and atmospheric dearth of what most people want in a horror film.4.5/10