Orphan received numerous complaints upon its release, mostly from adoption agencies, Eastern European adoptees and foster care organizations, for its portrayal of a Russian child being violent and psychopathic. In context, both Canada and the United States after the fall of the Soviet Union had seen an influx in families adopting children from former Soviet countries. Many orphanages in the former Soviet Union after collapse were underfunded and understaffed, thus, a chance for a child to be adopted by a loving family was a wonderful opportunity, and the film Orphan was criticized by many due to the problematic message sent out by the film. Melissa Greene of The Daily Beast stated, "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." The film was also criticized for playing on the "killer dwarf" trope, a reoccurring type of villain in horror films such as Don't Look Now (1973) and Horror Hospital (also released in 1973). The DVD release of Orphan ended up having a message added to the film promoting that people in reality consider adoption, framing the film as a fiction compared to the more benign reality of the situation.

Film

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