Analysis Of Genre

The Orphan (2009)

This is the trailer for the film 'The Orphan', a horror movie that fits the horror genre conventions very well;

Jaume Collet-Serra (The director of 'The Orphan')  uses diverse horror film conventions by including the following;

Good verses evil is present in this film; while Kate and John's daughter Max (Aryana Engineer), who is deaf and communicates with sign language, embraces Esther almost immediately, their son Daniel (Jimmy Bennett) is somewhat less welcoming creating conflict. Esther is portayed as the evil girl where as the rest of the family are introduced as the good people, this unravelles as the film progresses.

Revenge plays a huge role in this horror, this is the main convention that becomes clear in the trailer as we see Esther's evil side, her harming her adopted family, clearly seeking revenge.

Childhood issues is a main convention in 'The orphan', Melissa Fay Greene of The Daily Beast commented:

""The movie Orphan comes directly from this unexamined place in popular culture. Esther’s shadowy past includes Eastern Europe; she appears normal and sweet, but quickly turns violent and cruel, especially toward her mother. These are clichés. This is the baggage with which we saddle abandoned, orphaned, or disabled children given a fresh start at family life."^[5]"

Insanity is a convention that is also breifly shown in this trailer as it shows Esthers adopted family/carers worried about how she is acting as she is portaying elements of insanity.