Speaking of "Things Worth Seeing"

The other day we watched "Orphan," a nasty little flick that probably set the Eastern European adoption market back a decade or so.

Generally, horror-movies don't do too much for us (they're more WOS's cup of tea). Most horror movies go more for shock value than anything else, and, let's face it, how much can anything truly shock anybody nowadays? So horror filmmakers go for what Stephen King has referred to as "the gross-out"--the basest form of horror-effect. Blood and guts and gore don't really impress us. (Not that Stephen King considers himself "above" the gross-out. He does, however, aspire for more.)

"Orphan," however, does not rely on the gross-out. There is violence, certainly, but not much blood. Instead, it derives its effects from a slowly building creepiness. Isabelle Fuhrman, a rather gifted young actress, plays Esther, a Russian orphan, adopted by Kate and John Coleman (Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard). As you might expect, this being a horror movie called "Orphan," Esther turns out to be an evil little thing. But that's all we're going to say about it. You want to know the rest, check it out yourself.