Orphan: First Kill – Film Review
I can vividly remember sitting in the cinema watching Orphan in 2009 with my mouth wide open in shock at the revelation that nine-year-old orphan Esther was in fact a 33-year-old woman named Leena with a rare hormonal disorder. I knew this prequel, First Kill, would never be able to replicate that moment – but it certainly tries.
The prequel begins in 2007 at the Saarne Institute in Estonia, the psychiatric facility where Leena (Isabelle Fuhrman) used to live (as we know from the first film). After managing to escape, Leena pretends to be the missing daughter – Esther Albright – of a wealthy American family and is taken back home to Connecticut to live with her ‘parents’ Tricia (Julia Stiles) and Allen (Rossif Sutherland) and ‘brother’ Gunnar (Matthew Finlan).
I had very low expectations for Orphan: First Kill and assumed we would just see the same story play out again 13 years later. I wasn’t excited about it because I had already seen Esther infiltrate a family and pick them off one by one before. I expected a repeat of its predecessor but without the jaw-dropping twist that made it so memorable.
But I was so wrong. This film has a lot of tricks up its sleeve and was not at all what I expected. It has a surprising twist of its own – one which I didn’t remotely see coming – that changes the film entirely. The ludicrous twist feels very soap opera-like, but it worked and immediately made me sit up and pay attention. The movie became more interesting, fresh and exciting after that and I enjoyed it much more.
It’s quite impressive that Fuhrman, 25, was able to reprise her role as Esther/Leena in the prequel. She was 12 when she played her originally, so making her seem like a nine-year-old wasn’t too difficult, but this time around, she’s a 25-year-old portraying a (presumably) seven-year-old! I don’t think she seemed exactly that age but she certainly looked like a child thanks to make-up, forced perspective, camera angles, body doubles and a little CGI.
It’s also a testament to Fuhrman’s performance. She makes it look easy playing a child so believably and expertly deals with the added layer of portraying an adult pretending to be a kid. I bought her performance easily. Stiles has a juicier role than you might expect and she was a lot of fun, while Sutherland is the kind dad who is totally oblivious about it all.
I must admit that I didn’t love the hazy quality of the picture. I thought it would be temporary but it wasn’t! Plus, the film isn’t as scary as the first one and is more of a camp thriller than a psychological horror (although it’s quite bloody still), Esther doesn’t feel as unhinged and psycho as before, and one of the kills/deaths is pretty silly.
Orphan: First Kill is way better than I expected. I’m so glad it wasn’t a rehash of the first film and offered up something new and surprisingly enjoyable.
In cinemas from Friday 19th August