The 2009 horror filmOrphandefinitely made a splash. Isabelle Furhman played Esther, a child who begins living with John (Peter Sarsgaard) and Kate Coleman (Vera Farmiga). The couple quickly realizes that something is off and strange about Esther before the wild reveal comes out.Orphangrossed $77,912,251 at the global box office, according to Box Office Mojo, and is often considered one of the most interesting and exciting horror movies thanks to its big twist.
It’s no wonder that there will be a prequel film,Orphan: First Kill, which will be out later this summer. But was another movie about Esther necessary?
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According to the IMDb page forOrphan: First Kill, the movie’s premise is as follows: “After orchestrating a brilliant escape from an Estonian psychiatric facility, Esther travels to America by impersonating the missing daughter of a wealthy family.” Esther pretends to be Tricia (Julia Stiles) and Allen Albright’s (Rossif Sutherland) child, and she’s just as evil and manipulative as ever. William Brent Bell directed the film, known for directingStay Alive(2006),The Boy(2016), the sequelBrahms: The Boy II(2020), andSeparation(2021). It seems that Esther learns that she can keep doing this: living with families, making them think that she’s a child, and then killing whoever she feels like along the way. A sequel would seem impossible because of the ending of the first film.
While the big reveal in the originalOrphanthat Esther is not a child but a grown woman is definitely something to remember, it’s one of the mostnonsensical horror movie plot twists. It just doesn’t seem possible for the family not to realize that this is what’s happening. Yes, Esther does look young, but it’s not a huge stretch that she would actually be an adult.
While there arehorror movies that need prequels, isOrphan: First Killa necessary one? The film will give Esther some backstory and show the first time that she lies and manipulates people, proving that she has been a stone-hard killer for a long time. But since fans are aware that Esther (or 33-year-old Leena, which is her real self) has been evil for a long time, the prequel needs to be extra terrifying to really make an impression.
The interesting thing about the prequel is that audiences know that Esther is actually an adult pretending to be a child, which does change the whole story.Isabelle Fuhrman toldReel Talkthat her character is still scary and eerie. The actor said, “We played with that for this movie. The entire time you’re well aware that Esther is a grown-up and it’s really, really creepy. So I’m very excited for people to see it and to experience the level of horror and discomfort watching it that I did!”
When Fuhrman played Esther in the first film, she was 12 years old, and now she’s 24. The actor toldThe Hollywood Reporterthat no special affects were used, which is fascinating to hear about: “We didn’t use special effects, we didn’t use any crazy makeup tricks. And I think that’s what makes the movie work, is because you really can’t figure out how I look like a [9-year-old], but I do. And it’s really creepy.”
BecauseOrphanis all about itsbig plot twist, and this is what fans love about it, the prequel definitely needs a similar big swing. Esther’s new family will have to find out the truth about her, since that’s only logical, but this won’t feel as significant as it did in the original movie since everyone is already aware of it.
Theworst horror movie remakesuse the same characters and setting as the original film, which is boring, as it’s more exciting and compelling to see something new. It’s good thatOrphan: First Killwill see Esther in a different environment, as this will shake things up and make the movie feel distinct from the first one. It will also be fun to see Julia Stiles in a horror movie, as this isn’t a genre that the actor usually works in. Stiles has starred in some horror films that have flown under the radar, includingOut of the Darkfrom 2014 about a family moving to Colombia into a haunted house. Stiles also played Ellie Christianson in the 1998 filmWickedas a character who is in love with her father, which is definitely a creepy movie (and not in a good way).
It will be interesting to see how Esther is found out, since that seems likely, and what havoc she will cause along the way.Orphan: First Killwill be available to stream on Friday, August 19th 2022 on Paramount+.
