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.

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.

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

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