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.

Today, the all-but-forgotten movie "(Friday The Thirteenth) The Orphan" only rates as a footnote connected to the "Friday The Thirteenth" slasher series, since the producers of that film had to pay the producers of the earlier movie a fee to use the title. I had wanted to see the movie for years, but it was so obscure it was impossible to find. Finally, I found a copy at a thrift store, so I bought it and took it home. My verdict? Well, as I said in the summary line the people behind the movie were really trying. Despite the low budget, there are some good production values and skillful filmmaking techniques. The filmmakers also deserve kudos for not making this a simple exploitation film (though there are instances of blood and nudity), and were trying for a psychological kind of horror. However, the movie is pretty slow, even though the running time is only a little over seventy minutes. Maybe this could have been a good short film, but as it is it feels very padded. Still, there are much worse cinematic ways to take up your time.

After tragic death of his parents-the woman accidentally shots her husband and then herself-ten year old David is left in the care of Aunt Marta.His neurotic and soul-denying guardian lives a large estate mansion.She is a cruel woman.All the things David loved are gone:his hen,his dog and his relationships with African friend Akin and a servant woman Mary.David hates his Aunt and tries to destroy her.His sanity slowly deteriorates and he becomes a psychotic killer...Very sad and unusual horror film which offers plenty of psychological chills.The acting is uneven and there are only two murder scenes,so "The Orphan" is still neglected by horror fans.According to Stephen Thrower's "Nightmare USA" John Ballard's final cut was 110 minutes-the current version is missing around thirty minutes from the original cut.Fans of Bergman's "Persona" or "Fanny and Alexander" should give "The Orphan" a chance.8 orphans out of 10.

This is one of those films that kind of fall into the unfortunate "no man's land" between art and exploitation. I can't really claim that I found it either wildly entertaining or artistically brilliant, but it is more interesting than some of the other reviews make it sound. There aren't. for instance, too many other American horror movies based on a short story by a renowned British-Indian author or that feature a title song by 70's folk singer Janis "Seventeen" Ian (the alternate choice I guess was Leonard Cohen which REALLY would have been interesting). There are only three, not especially bloody, murders, which makes the "Friday the 13th" retitling kind of unfortunate (even though this came out a year or so before the slasher series). It is bound to disappoint somewhat as a horror movie, let alone if you're expecting a "Friday the 13th" style gorefest.This is a movie about a young boy whose frequently absent father, an African explorer, has been killed in an unfortunate accident which also indirectly claimed his mother. His stern, disapproving aunt comes to take care of him and tries to bend him to her will. She chases away an African associate of his father's who is staying at the house (and is apparently the lonely boy's only friend), she intentionally kills his pet chicken, and accidentally kills his dog. The boy also has a complicated and (at least on his end) somewhat sexual relationship with the family maid, but their relationship curdles after he hides in a closet and listens to her having sex with her boyfriend. He eventually goes crazy and ends up reverting into a kind of "Lord of the Flies" mode, worshipping a stuffed gorilla called "Charlie" as a kind of pagan god and waging war against his well-intentioned but wrongheaded aunt. Needless to say, things do not end well.This movie was apparently made over a ten year period(!) and it shows in some of the uneven direction and seemingly random plot twists. Some of the acting, especially that of the main child actor, is pretty weak. Still it is one of these movies that is interesting simply because it so far out of the generally accepted cinematic universe that it would never get made today. It's not very good perhaps, but it still might be worth checking out, especially if you like offbeat 70's films like I do.