*SPOILERS*
Kate an John are a married couple struggling with the loss of their third child in labor. The loss of the baby was especially hard for the mother who begins experiencing emotional and mental issues. At the same time the two of them consider adopting a child which leads them to Esther, a very bright 9 year old, who charms them during the first visit to the orphanage. Esther soon becomes a member of this wealthy family, but not all family members are thrilled to see her. Daniel, the eldest child, hold resentment for her, because of the attention she has been given, as a new member. HE starts hating on her, and bullying her in school which makes it even harder to blend in with everyone else. Also her specific way of dressing and a variety of talent she possesses make her even more striking labeling her as a freak. On the other hand, we have Max, a sweet innocent deaf girl, that manifests excitement and relief when her new sister arrives. She makes a bond with Esther making the two of them inseparable.
A series of events trigger the dark side in Esther. As I already mentioned first she is bullied in school, then the wounds in Kate and John's marriage starts opening again, her half brother hates her.
In the first half of the movie, while everything is still "normal" I kinda feel sorry for Esther. She is that kind of evil I like to call naive evil. Similar character I can describe with this term is Samara from The Ring 2002 (the American version) ---and this is important cause Jap. and Ame. versions are two different films. Both Esther and Samara want one thing only. A family. When their perfect family that they longed for their entire lives is taken away from them or starts being the exact opposite from the perfect family, the evil is unleashed. There is one crucial difference between Esther and Samara though. Samara is a paranormal entity, a ghost locked inside a cursed tape. Esther is real. Very real. Once again I highlight the fact that this is my opinion during the first half of the movie, that is until the movie starts to unfold itself. As the movie flows we find out that Esther is not a little girl at all. She is an escaped patient from a psychiatric hospital from Estonia. She is actually 33 years old, but has a rare hormonal disorder which didn't allow her to grow anymore than a 9 year old girl would. But mentally, she is fully developed and conscious. And very, very dangerous.
And that is the part that really pissed me off. By giving Esther a believable background and explaining her condition thoroughly, the movie loses that feeling of paranormal it was carrying in the first half, when I still believed Esther is a fucked up child from god knows where. There certainly is something much more creepy about crazy children than about crazy 30 year old women. I'm not saying that I didn't like the movie. This is probably one of the best films that came out of USA in ages, but to deprive Esther of her childish eeriness, and give the audience something to clinger on (becuse no child of Christ could ever be capable of killing a nun) ---unless of course of Russian heritage lol, takes this film in a whole different direction. It stops being a horror and turns into "Fugitive" like action, at times reminding me of Hollywood blockbusters. What I'm trying to say is, that all of those things Esther did, automatically become less horrible because we know Esther isn't a child. She is a fully grown, though deranged, woman.
Nevertheless this is a highly well directed, acted movie. All of the actors did their best, with the loop on young Isabelle Durham, who did an extraordinary job and she's only like 14 years old! For fucks sake!
Another thing I wanted to mention is how much Kate reminds me of The Ring character Rachel. Both of them posses that 'been through hell and back' charisma and both of them are fighting for their childrens lives.
Also check put these videos below to really see what I mean ;)
