A prequel to 2009's Orphan finds 25-year-old Isabelle Fuhrman stepping out of a time machine to once again play Esther Albright, the 31 year-old woman born with proportional dwarfism, a physical disorder that allows her to pass for 12. The first thing you notice about the Estonian hospital that houses Esther is they can't afford to pay their light bills. It’s also run by licensed shrinks more mentally incapacitated than the patients they treat. (The staff doesn’t alert a new hire to the dangers of the psychiatric facility until she arrives and what kind of guard is going to respond the the sexual advances of the asylum’s most dangerous patient?) Julia Stiles and Rossif Sutherland replace Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard and in both cases the adult female leads own the proceedings. While I’m all for films that pit adults against children to dramatize how much grown ups hate and envy children for their youth, this isn’t David Cronenberg’s The Brood. Don’t miss the climactic blaze that torches a hilariously obvious miniature. Considering the source material, this was a major letdown. William Brent Bell takes over the directorial duties from Jaume Collet-Serra. (2011) — Scott Marks
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