Leading LGBT magazine of South Florida

As a rabid fan of the horror genre, I anxiously awaited this film which previews left me salivating to see an updated version of the classic flick 'The Bad Seed.'

Vera Farmiga stars as Kate, a recovering alcoholic, whose marriage to John, played by Peter Sarsgsard, is shaken by the loss of their unborn child. Although Kate seems like a great candidate for a cocktail of psychotropic drugs and who is struggling to be a good mom to her son, Daniel and her deaf daughter Max, pursues adoption of another child.

Enter Esther, played by Isabelle Fuhrman the new millennium's answer to Damien of The Omen fame. Esther, a 9 year old Russian child, immediately bonds with John at the orphanage as she entrances him with her artwork.

The couple manages to adopt her on the spot which is beyond unrealistic since there seems to be no background checks, Esther just goes home with the couple and that's when the fun begins, or should I say the torture and I mean for the moviegoers.

Although Fuhrman does a great job in capturing the essence of evil and makes you wonder how many sociopathic children exist in the world, the film is anti-climactic. Farmiga and Sargaard are so dull and annoying that you start rooting for Esther to put them out of their misery.

Kuddos though to Jimmy Bennett who plays their son Daniel who gives a good performance, as does adorable Aryana Engineer who plays daughter Max. The only thing you wish is that perhaps you can catch Max's deafness so that you can avoid hearing the film and that's half the battle.

The heavily touted ending is a mesmerizing but ridiculous twist and more than a little unbelievable. It almost feels like you've just seen a comedy. The one thing the film manages to do is scare the bejesus out of anyone who wants to adopt.