Raetsonwe Redundant and unnecessary.

Lawbolisted Powerful

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Wizard-8 Today, the all-but-forgotten movie "(Friday The Thirteenth) The Orphan" only rates as a footnote connected to the "Friday The Thirteenth" slasher series, since the producers of that film had to pay the producers of the earlier movie a fee to use the title. I had wanted to see the movie for years, but it was so obscure it was impossible to find. Finally, I found a copy at a thrift store, so I bought it and took it home. My verdict? Well, as I said in the summary line the people behind the movie were really trying. Despite the low budget, there are some good production values and skillful filmmaking techniques. The filmmakers also deserve kudos for not making this a simple exploitation film (though there are instances of blood and nudity), and were trying for a psychological kind of horror. However, the movie is pretty slow, even though the running time is only a little over seventy minutes. Maybe this could have been a good short film, but as it is it feels very padded. Still, there are much worse cinematic ways to take up your time.

lazarillo 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.

stephendellabarca 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

EyeAskance 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