A middle-aged couple, thinking of adoption, wander around an orphanage, where they've been given a chance to meet the kids. They stumble upon one girl, Esther, a precocious preteen who's in a room by herself, painting.
The couple, impressed by the child's talent and sensitivity, ask why she isn't at the party with the other kids. "I guess I'm different," replies Esther, to which the couple give that stock reply of all caring adults: "That's all right, honey, it's OK to be different."
"Orphan" (Japan title: "Esther") is a film dedicated to disproving that notion; it's the "Dirty Harry" of horror films, suggesting that liberal tolerance and understanding, while all well and good, can sometimes be a fatal character flaw. "Different" is great — until it plunges a steak knife into your side.