Orphan: First Kill

Starring: Isabelle Fuhrman, Julia Stiles, Rossif Sutherland, Hiro Kanagawa, Matthew Finlan, Samantha Walkes

Director: William Brent Bell

Leena (Fuhrman), who is currently a patient of the Saarne Mental Institution in Estonia, has a rare genetic condition that stopped her growth when she was a young girl and despite having the appearance of a child is actually a fully grown woman. After a violent escape from the institute, Leena assumes the identity of a young girl named Esther Albright, who has been missing for four years. As Esther, she is picked up by her new mother Tricia (Stiles) and brought back to Connecticut to be reunited with father Allen (Sutherland) and brother Gunnar (Finlan). Although she plays the part well, soon cracks begin to show in her story and catch the attention of Detective Donnan (Kanagawa) who worked on Esther’s disappearance. Esther, who has begun to take a liking to Allen, must do all she can to evade suspicion and embrace her new life without her cover being blown.

I had eerily similar misgivings for this film as I did for Top Gun: Maverick. I didn’t understand how or why a sequel was necessary, as 2010’s horror thriller Orphan is best remembered for its bonkers twist about Esther. This revelation is something this film has to be very upfront about revealing as it is a prequel, and had me questioning how a sequel would even work.

And much like Top Gun: Maverick, I was honestly pleasantly surprised by how this turned out. We open with a gruesome and violent escape that is well done and helps set the tone we are expecting the film to follow. Once Esther gets to the family, the first half begins to follow a similar pattern as the 2010 film and I started to roll my eyes in disappointment. There are even numerous callbacks and explanations for things in the previous movie so fans of that will have plenty to enjoy. However, my fears about this prequel were coming true.

My expectations were thrown for a loop when about halfway through we are introduced to another bonkers twist that sends the film spiraling in a completely new direction. While I am not sure how much sense it ultimately makes, I enjoyed the pivot in narrative because it becomes wildly more entertaining and sinister and helps distinguish it from the earlier movie.

Helping lead the way is Isabelle Fuhrman. Despite the actress being much older than in the previous film, she still carries the film with ease and even manages to give Esther a little humanity. Although director William Brent Bell and cinematographer Karim Hussain employ every camera trick they can think of to show Fuhrman as a child, it’s still hard to hide the fact that she is older and pretending. Julia Stiles is fantastic as Tricia, having a much more complex character to play than how it seems at first. I hope this role kick-starts her career in Hollywood again after stepping away for TV roles and voice acting.

Issues aside, this is a devious and surprising little thriller that becomes something much better if you can get past the derivative first half. Much like the 2010 film, I’m not sure where they can go from here but hey, maybe they will surprise me again!

Grade: B-

Orphan: First Kill is currently streaming on Paramount+