Little Annie Orphan, she isn't.

The gist of the story “Orphan” is a step away from the lovable children to the more deranged types who may raid your family with terror. She isn't the kind of girl you want to adopt which his probably the message of the film.

But what is interesting about this film is that the controversy over it is more known than the actual film itself. Such a heartbreaking notion of adoption this film has that it was the first time the film company was asked to provide a thirty minute advertising which sings approval for adoption.

The commercial says something like, “Adoption is a good thing.” It's because several adoption centers and staff took offense to the film like “Orphan” as they thought it would be an assault of child adoption.

What these people don't realize is that it's a horror film. Plain and simple. Nothing could be further from the truth. The film marketed itself as a horror film with the little girl with the blackest eyes like coal chambers is on the splash page of the poster. She's the poster child of evil according to this film.

But the film isn't a charge against adoption. Far from it. People from adoption centers have been causing a racket over this thing and there shouldn't be any reason for it. They could have dismissed it as just another horror film. A very good horror film. Nonetheless, a horror flick.

I'm sure the controversy over this has brought more people to see the film in the theaters over the fall season out of curiosity. They were probably wondering what the hype is all about. Maybe they were just looking for a good scare.

It reminds me another time a film has caused a controversy when it shouldn't have. The film was Monty Python's Life of Brian which was a farce regarding a man's life who is parallel to Jesus. And crust of the humor makes fun of religion as it's no longer a sacred thing to the British comedy troupe.

Most people who complained about this one never saw the movie. They would simply standing lines and protest that it was a blasphemy about the heaven, hell and everything between. It wasn't funny to many. And television evangelist Graham was saying something like, “Whoever is this Monty Python fellow is should be shamed” while slamming his fist on his desk. While his co-workers repeatedly told him that it was actually a group of six people.

But was Orphan a decent enough movie to be liked? I thought so.

I felt the film was a slow going one like a moving railroad train starting its engines, and the crushing atmosphere was like a storm of moods. It was a well crafted film with plenty of shadows. The story revolves the tragedy of a little girl who has come to age. And the demon of lust that consumes her.

Horror films could be centered on mood along with an air of suspense. That is how many of H.P. Lovecraft's stories are developed as a reign of horror through a perfect grasp of words and images. But the stories were always slow going as to build mood.

The same with this film. It builds up an effective chill and the unsettling nature of the girl adds to the effect. You know there is something else about that girl you're not sure of. But the backgrounds provide more... early on you can see how her crafty illustrations suggest an otherworldly tension about her. It's well done. The film is really about the young orphan Esther and her mother Kate... and the competitiveness between women that can become a dangerous game. Their mother and daughter relationship becomes a see-saw balance of absolute terror.

The orphan plots and plans. While the mother is the problem solver as she seeks to investigate the mystery surrounding the little girl's background. It's nicely done.

The acting is first rate, the directing carries the film rather well. I'm surprised that there were two very good horror films to come out in the same year, the first being “Drag Me Back to Hell.”

But Orphan isn't an explosive film. It's about the coldness of a family and how any one member can throw the rest of the family into a chaos. The film surrenders itself to the beauty of mood throughout. The house they live in has a Victorian feeling about it, making it irksome with the awkward shadows clinging to the walls. Even the orphan herself is styled in old fashioned clothing. But her eyes are always filled with an awful fire.

Kudos to actresses Vera Farmiga as Kate, Isabelle Fuhrman as Esther and Aryana Engineer as Maxine. All of them deserve credit for bringing a very strong feminine side to the story.

I won't tell you the ending of the story to put you off. But it's a very nice twist ending and one I did not expect as the film draws closer to the end. It's nice to see some horror films like this one is a smart cookie. They know how to bleed you with the tireless blackness of guilt while suspending you with a discomfort. The call the mother makes to the insane asylum in Russia is certainly one of the highlights in the film. It is a captivity of horror at its finest.

I have to admit that I was very appreciative of seeing how the young daughter Maxine of the mother happens to be hard of hearing. So there is a nice side story about the hard of hearing to deaf. And their sign language is well done because I am familiar with it myself as I also have a significant hearing loss. So it's nice to see them break a regular formation of a family while bringing someone clearly special into the part. The young girl who plays the deaf daughter does it very well. She deserves a good round of applause.

Orphan is a nice departure from the usual reckless drive of horror films that comes through like a huge automobile accident. There have been far too many horror films that tend to be a violent type without mastering the mood. But Orphan does it so well with the sheer blessing of having hired an excellent actress to play the very mature, driven girl who simply wants to be loved. Someone who simply wants a home. But she finds herself in the bowels of darkness just as her dark, wretched heart is.

Orphan is an excellent addition to the gallery of horror films. Others who has children may want to beware.