Orphan

Tuesday 11th August 2009, 8:53AM BST.

Suffer the little children, for they know not what they do – except in horror movies, where angelic tykes are frequently messengers of destruction.

Patty McCormack chilled the heart of every parent in the mid-1950s with her unforgettable portrayal of The Bad Seed, followed by bloodcurdling favourites such as Village Of The Damned, The Other, The Omen and Children Of The Corn.

A little girl in search of a loving family proves a handful for her adopted parents in Jaume Collet-Serra’s brutal thriller, which has somehow been classified a 15 certificate.

Orphan is not for the faint of heart, with graphic scenes of stabbing and bludgeoning with a hammer.

Screenwriter David Leslie Johnson abides by convention, opening with a nightmarish hospital-room scene that sets the grisly tone.

He peppers the narrative with all the usual scares, then opts for copious blood-letting for the overwrought finale that conceals a clever twist we sense is coming, even though we’re not sure how Johnson will pull it off.

There are gaping holes in the film’s logic likely to elicit squeals of unintentional laughter, such as the haste of one character to commit a loved one to the asylum.

Anything to keep the plot ticking over for two hours.

Kate Coleman (Vera Farmiga) and her husband John (Peter Sarsgaard) are devastated by the loss of their unborn child, who they name Jessica.

Therapist Dr Browning (Margo Martindale) attempts to heal the deep emotional wounds but Kate’s alcoholism, which almost led to their young daughter drowning, continues to drive the couple apart.

The Colemans decide to re-ignite that loving feeling by adopting a child.

‘I want to take that love we felt for Jessica and give it to somebody who really needs it,’ sobs Kate.

So they visit an orphanage run by Sister Abigail (CCH Pounder) and fall in love with lonely Russian girl Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman).

Instantly smitten, Kate and John complete the paperwork and bring Esther home to meet their brood: Daniel (Jimmy Bennett) and profoundly deaf daughter Max (Aryana Engineer).

The boy is jealous of Esther’s hold over his parents, but Max is delighted to have a big sister to take care of her.

Little do the Colemans know that Esther has a secret – one that will bring death and misery to their community.

Orphan generates a palpable sense of doom from its gloomy opening frames, then continues to crank up the tension as Esther reveals her true nature.

Farmiga and Sarsgaard spend the majority of the film screaming at each other, while Fuhrman delivers a genuinely creepy supporting turn as a pint-sized sociopath.

Serra slathers on the gore and entrails in a final showdown that would undoubtedly traumatise little Max for life as her nearest and dearest are eviscerated all around her.

Don’t be surprised if she turns psycho in a straight-to-DVD sequel.