6. Orphan (2009)
Orphan could easily be considered one of the best horror movies of the ’00s. That isn’t because it’s particularly well-made or overly innovative, but it delivers one of the most insane and disturbing movie twists in living memory. All of that stems from a plot so ludicrous and distasteful that it’s impossible to allow this list to exist without a mention of Orphan.
After multiple heartbreaking miscarriages, a well-meaning family adopt a nine-year-old Russian orphan named Esther. It soon becomes clear that Esther is not entirely what she seems: she’s violent and psychopathic, and is shown deliberately sowing dysfunction in the family home. However, the final act reveals that Esther is actually not a child at all, but a 33-year-old woman with hypopituitarism, a hormonal disorder that causes proportional dwarfism, allowing her to masquerade as a child in order to seduce and kill middle-aged fathers.
Orphan‘s big reveal is disturbing and unforgettable, but what makes its premise so insane is just how horrific it truly is. In the space of a single scene, Orphan is able to insensitively handle the topics of dwarfism and abuse both sexual and physical in nature, and it does it without a single thought. It’s a movie that’s almost too insane to truly exist, and the best part? It’s all carried off without even a hint of irony.