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Orphan (2009) KILL COUNT is the three hundred and thirty-eighth video of The Kill Count.
Overview[]
Kate and John Coleman's marriage is strained after the stillbirth of their third child, Jessica, whose loss is particularly hard on Kate who is a recovering alcoholic. She and John decide to adopt a 9-year-old Russian girl, Esther, from St. Mariana's Home for Girls, a local orphanage. While their 5-year-old deaf daughter, Max, embraces Esther, their 12-year-old son, Daniel, is cold towards her.
One night, John and Kate begin to have sex until Esther interrupts them. Kate becomes suspicious when Esther expresses far more knowledge of sex than expected of a child her age. Esther then exhibits hostile behavior in front of Max and Daniel, such as killing an injured pigeon and badly injuring a classmate who was harshly bullying her. Sister Abigail, the head of the orphanage, visits the household, warning Kate and John that tragic events and accidents always seem to happen around Esther, including the house fire that killed her last adoptive family. To keep Sister Abigail from returning, Esther causes her to crash her car on the road and then bludgeons her to death with a hammer. She forces Max to help her move the body and then hides the evidence in Daniel's treehouse. Daniel sees them at the treehouse, and later that night, she furiously interrogates him about what he saw, threatening to castrate him if he tells Kate and John.
As Kate becomes further convinced about Esther's unusual behavior, John believes she is being paranoid and tells Esther to do something nice for Kate. Esther rips out the flowers from Jessica's grave and gives them to Kate as a bouquet. Kate is horrified and roughly grabs Esther's arm in distress and frustration, asserting that she did this on purpose. That night, Esther breaks her own arm and falsely blames Kate, causing further strife in Kate and John's marriage. The next day, Esther releases the brake in the car, causing it to roll into oncoming traffic with Max inside. She also points out the wine she found in the kitchen, causing John and Kate's therapist to suggest Kate returns to rehab, with John threatening to leave her and take the children if she refuses. Kate discovers that Esther came from an Estonian mental hospital, and the orphanage she claims she was from has no record of her.
When Daniel learns about Sister Abigail's death from Max and searches the treehouse, Esther sets it on fire and attempts to kill him but is thwarted by Max. Daniel is seriously injured, and while in the hospital, Esther tries to smother him to death with a pillow, but doctors arrive in time to revive him. Kate, enraged, slaps Esther before she is restrained and sedated. That night, Esther dresses provocatively and attempts to seduce John, who threatens to send Esther back to the orphanage after realizing Kate had been right about Esther's behavior.
At the hospital, Kate is contacted by Dr. Värava of the Saarne Instituute and learns that Esther is actually a 33-year-old woman named Leena Klammer, born in Estonia. She has hypopituitarism, a rare hormonal disorder that stunted her physical growth and caused proportional dwarfism, and she has spent most of her life posing as a little girl. Leena is violent and has murdered at least seven people, including the last family that adopted her. After failing to seduce her adoptive father, Leena removes the ribbons she was wearing around her wrists and neck, which have been hiding scars from trying to break out of straitjackets during her time at the asylum. Leena removes her disguise and stabs John to death. Kate rushes home, and Leena attempts to shoot her, wounding her arm. After Leena opens fire on Max, Kate breaks through the roof and knocks Esther unconscious.
Kate and Max flee as police arrive, but Leena attacks Kate near the frozen pond, hurling them onto the ice. Max tries to shoot Leena but shatters the ice instead, sending Leena and Kate underwater. Kate climbs out, with Leena clinging to her legs. Leena pleads for her life but Kate angrily kicks Leena in the face, breaking her neck. Leena's body sinks into the pond as Kate and Max are met by police.
Deaths[]
Counted Deaths[]
- Sister Abigail - Beaten to death with hammer - 56 mins in
- John Coleman - Stabbed to death by Esther/Leena - 1 hr 45 mins in
- "Esther"/Leena Klammer - Neck broken by kick / drowned - 1 hr 55 mins in
Non-Counted Deaths[]
- Jessica Coleman - Miscarriage
- Pigeon - Crushed by "Esther"/Leena with a rock
- Father - Killed and burned by "Esther"/Leena
- Mother - Burned by "Esther"/Leena
- Son - Burned by "Esther"/Leena
- Other Families - Possibly killed by "Esther"/Leena
Trivia[]
- This is the first movie covered on the Kill Count that starts with the letter O in the title
- This is the 10th Kill Count that doesn't have a dull machete.