Orphan First Kill

Orphan released in 2009 was a horror masterpiece in my opinion. I even bought the DVD
(remember those?). Despite having not seen Orphan in several years I can still remember
parts of it quite vividly. The starring role of ‘Esther’ (played by Isabelle Fuhrman); breaking
her own arm using a vice, kicking the hell out of that toilet cubicle, and of course creepily
cutting up her food with all the precision of a skilled surgeon. I can even recall some lines
like Esther threatening her adopted brother with a box cutter blade. Taunting the petrified
young boy by telling him she’s going to cut a certain appendage off before he’s even “learned
how to use it”.

So, when I saw Orphan: First Kill (2022) was now streaming on UK Netflix I was
skeptical. Knowing the genre’s track record for sequels and prequels, I didn’t hold out much
hope for reclaiming the glory of the first film. The first hour of the film is pretty much a
blood by numbers setup. The opening scene finds Esther, whose real name is Leena, trying to
escape from a psychiatric facility for dangerous patients. We are told Esther is the most
dangerous of these patients despite her petite size. We are also reminded of Esther’s
condition. Esther suffers from hypopituitarism; a form of dwarfism, which means she will
remain looking child-like despite her maturity. Esther plays into this in order to con people
into believing she is a harmless child. Orphan: First Kill takes place 13 years prior to Orphan
which means Esther is 20 years old.
The disturbed young woman of course escapes from the facility, resulting in at least
three murders by her own hand. Whilst on the run, she assumes the identity of a missing 9
year old girl named, you guessed it; Esther. This is how Esther gets her alias.
The burgeoning con artist ingratiates herself to the missing girl’s family by pretending
to be their long lost daughter. She takes a particular liking to the father, I’m sure she wants to
call him ‘daddy’ (sorry I had to). All very standard and following the same beats as the first
movie. It was at this point in the movie I resigned myself to returning to my very busy
evening of doom scrolling. But, then! The twist happened! I won’t spoil it but suffice to say I
was impressed with this switch up. I had suspected Julia Stiles (10 Things I Hate About You,
Mona Lisa Smile) wasn’t going to be just a suburban mum whose becoming slightly
suspicious that her miraculously returned daughter is somewhat homicidal. The movie turns
deliciously campy and I couldn’t wait to find out how this truly twisted tale unfolded.
Actress Isabelle Fuhrman returns as Esther and is as formidable as ever in the role.
Some have criticised that at 27 Fuhrman is now too old for the role, even pretending to be an
adult pretending to be a child. In Orphan Fuhrman was 18 years old, so her youthful looks
made her portrayal of Esther all the more disturbing. In the prequel she looks far more like a
grown woman. Despite rumours there was no CGI de-aging, instead the production utilised
child stunt doubles and forced perspective shots. You can play a fun game, as I did, of trying
to guess in which shots Fuhrman was switched for the child stunt doubles. I also hypothesised
that the real Esther’s bedroom furniture was scaled differently to fit Fuhrman’s height which
makes the scenes in the bedroom with the other adult actors look…interesting.
Despite all these machinations the casts performances are excellent. Fuhrman even
makes the egregious Estonian a somewhat sympathetic character regarding the situation she
finds herself in. A special mention goes to the son, Gunnar (Matthew Finlan) who started out
a relatively benign but ended up as a character you love to hate!

Is Orphan: First Kill another horror classic? Not at all, but it’s a surprisingly fun
watch that will take you by surprise.