Review of ORPHAN: FIRST KILL: Esther's Emergence

July 30, 2022

"Orphan: First Kill" (William Brent Bell, 2022)

The film which introduced us to the despicable and evil 9 year-old girl named Esther was "Orphan" (2009) directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by David Leslie Johnson, from a story by Alex Mace. Esther (Isabelle Fuhrmann) was a talented little Russian orphan who was adopted by Kate (Vera Farmiga) and John (Peter Sarsgaard) Coleman. Not long after, Esther began to wreak havoc on her poor adoptive family. 

The whole film was so unsettling, I could not help but flinch during scenes where Esther puts a child in mortal danger, and this happened multiple times. A rather preposterous medical condition revealed to explain her physical appearance and sexual vulgarity, aside from the more apparent psychiatric issues accounting for her murderous sociopathic behavior. Esther had certainly become one of the most hateful cinematic characters ever.

Since the end of the film did not really open itself for a sequel, it was quite a surprise when it was announced earlier this year that there would be a second "Orphan" movie. The bigger surprise was that this new film would be a prequel, and it would still star the same actress Isabelle Fuhrmann as Esther. Fuhrmann was only 12 years old in the first film, so that would make her 25 years old this year playing Esther at a younger age! 

Orphan (Jaume Collet-Serra, 2009)

In this prequel, a ruthless psychotic killer Leena Klammer was able to escape from the institution where she was confined in Estonia. She took advantage of her delicate child-like appearance to pretend to be Esther, the missing daughter of a wealthy American couple, Allen and Tricia Albright (Julia Stiles and Rossif Sutherland). Even if her subterfuge was not always perfect, Esther easily got close with Allen because of their common love for painting.

At first, you'd think that Esther will do exactly the same thing to the Albrights as she did to the Colemans in the first film. It was the mom who was wary of Esther first as was their eldest son Gunnar (Matthew Filan), but the father remained oblivious. There was a scene where husband and wife were having sex, but was interrupted by a jealous Esther. However, the filmmakers had a big surprise twist midway in the story that made this prequel totally different.

Even if it seems this prequel can be watched without watching the first film, it is advised to see the first film first to "enjoy" the franchise better. The big revelatory twist of the first film was already spoiled early in the prequel since they assume you already watched the first film. In medium shots, director William Brent Bell used younger body doubles to maintain the illusion of Esther as a child, but closeups of Fuhrmann's face can't really deny her present age. 

*****

"Orphan" (2009): 7/10.

"Orphan: First Kill" (2022): 6/10.