After their third child - a daughter - is stillborn, John (Peter Sarsgaard) and Kate Coleman (Vera Farmiga) make the difficult decision to adopt an older child, as Kate feels that they still have love to give another child.
They adopt a 9-year-old girl named Esther (Isabelle Furhmann), who at first seems like the perfect addition to their family. They find out from the orphanage where she is staying that she is from Russia, though her English is very good. She likes to paint, and is very talented at that, too.
Their other two children have different thoughts on this new arrival. Son Daniel (Jimmy Bennett) isn’t really that excited to have a new sister, particularly one so close to his own age, when he had been expecting a baby sister this whole time. Daughter Maxine (Aryana Engineer) is profoundly deaf, and is very excited to have a sister at last, one she had been waiting for for so long.
Esther begins to fit well into the family, though it is certainly an adjustment. She spends the entire car trip home learning how to greet Maxine in sign language, and introduce herself, and later takes up piano lessons (this is Kate’s job now, after she was fired from her previous job teaching at Yale).
It isn’t long at all however before things begin to turn sinister. Accidents seem to follow Esther wherever she goes, and despite Kate’s efforts to include her in the family, Esther seems to be growing more and more distant from Kate, preferring to spend her time with John.
Kate begins to suspect that there is more to Esther than they had first thought, but she can never prove anything to her husband. In fact, John just thinks his wife is going mad, and to most outside observers, it certainly seems that way.
I really can’t say any more without giving too much away, so I will leave the plot for now, and focus on other elements of the film.
This is a brilliantly written (by David Leslie Johnson) and directed (by Jaume Collet-Serra) classic horror film, with all the ingredients present for the best effect. Most of the ‘scares’ in the first half of the movie are jump scares, admittedly, but of course, this is typical of the genre, so it is not really a bad thing.
The cast are simply amazing. Farmiga is fantastic in the role of Kate, so much so that even the audience will wonder if perhaps she is going mad as her husband thinks. She doesn’t overplay the role at all, which would have been more than possible to do in a film like this.
Isabelle Fuhrmann is also brilliant as Esther. Her mood can change in an instant, yet she remains believable until the very end.
Another great performance is that of Aryana Engineer as Maxine, who is herself hearing-impaired in real life. She has incredibly expressive eyes, and significant portions of the film are seen through her eyes, including several scenes that are in total silence (usually after she is seen to remove her hearing aids). As such, her role requires a strong, capable performer, and she most definitely delivers.
Other notable performances are that of CCH Pounder as Sister Abigail (the nun who runs the orphanage where Esther was staying before) and Margo Martindale as Kate’s therapist, Dr. Browning.
The ‘scares’ in this film, particularly those in the second half, once we get through the multitude of jump scares from the earlier sections, are legitimately frightening, especially once we begin to see what Esther is indeed capable of.
The cinematography and music are also excellent. Light and shadow is used to good effect throughout, and the score (and diegetic music where used) support the action and emotion well.
There is only one thing I would say about the ending of this film (hopefully without giving too much away), and that is that if you have seen this movie, and saw the ending coming, then I would seek professional help immediately. Seriously, it is a more twisted and unexpected ending than anything I have ever seen in my life. That being said, after multiple viewings, I can say it was there the whole time (that will make sense when you watch it, I hope).
An amazing entry into the horror/suspense/thriller genre, this is not a film for the faint-hearted.
9 1/2 out of 10.
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