Orphan: First Kill Movie Review In Select Theaters, On Demand & Paramount+ Friday August 19, 2022(Paramount Pictures)

IN THEATERS, ON DIGITAL AND STREAMING ON PARAMOUNT+: August 19, 2022

DIRECTOR: William Brent Bell 

WRITER: David Coggeshall

CAST: Isabelle Fuhrman, Rossif Sutherland and Julia Stiles

SYNOPSIS: Esther’s terrifying saga continues in this thrilling prequel to the original and shocking horror hit, Orphan.  After orchestrating a brilliant escape from an Estonian psychiatric facility, Esther travels to America by impersonating the missing daughter of a wealthy family. Yet, an unexpected twist arises that pits her against a mother who will protect her family from the murderous “child” at any cost.

RUN TIME: 99 minutes

RATING: R

GENRE: Horror, Thriller, Mystery

DISTRIBUTOR: Paramount Pictures

SPOILERS ALERT

This is a prequel to the original film and in the film, we are treated to a few surprises that I will get into in the review.

Isabelle Fuhrman as Esther

In this film, we see an older Esther and she is in a psychiatric facility and seems to have some very powerful control over (at least one) of the patients thereby offering her candy, which leads to a few pretty intense scenes.

She eventually breaks out of the facility, as we know the movie would be less interesting if she was to stay.

She then goes to America and is "reunited" with her "family", the problem is that she is not the family's daughter/sister Ester, who has been missing for the past 4 years.

She is in fact a totally different person, very disturbed and violent.

Matthew Finlan as Gunnar Albright Julia Styles as Tricia Albright

Esther notices a man watching her and her mother walking out of a building where Esther is getting some counseling, he is later identified as a detective.

Vengeful and careful that her identity is not discovered by him, she goes to his house and proceeds to kill him. She's not quite finished when she moves in to finish him, we hear gunshots!?

Surprised to see that it's actually Tricia(Syles)who has found his gun on the floor from the altercation between him and Esther, she empties the gun into him.

Then pointing the gun at Esther, she says "What are you looking at?"

I did not see that part of the movie at all, I thought it would follow the same kind of pattern as the other films with similar tales to tell. But, pleasantly from that moment on I was glued to my screen and wanted to see what happens next, because they kept it hidden so well.

Isabelle Fuhrman as Esther has grown as a young actress, in the first film she was only 10, she is now 25. In the press notes, they had this to say.

"Bell and Fuhrman met to discuss the idea. The actor, now 25 years old- but fortunately still possessing a youthful, cherubic face - was beyond excited at the idea of returning to the character.

“Brent really championed for me to be in the movie which I appreciated because it was a really big up-in-the-air question as to whether or not they would be able to make me look like a kid and how this would work,” Fuhrman recalls. “From day one, he was like, ‘You could definitely do it. We're going to find a way to make it happen.’ And I'm truly grateful for that because I've had such an incredible time revisiting this part.” “To get everybody on board to take this big chance and make this film with this whole trick has been a testament to everybody's faith in Isabelle and the movie,” says Bel"

This really helps bring a different feel to the film, some really good work from everyone here. Isabelle is very powerful in this new film, kind of reminded me of Damien from the Omen series, intense enough but not over the top.