I was a massive fan of the original Orphan movie! Despite being a big fan of it, I did wonder if a prequel was really needed. I mean, we got a bit about Esther’s backstory in the original movie. We knew that she was an Estonian woman in her 30s posing as a kid and that she killed the last family she was with.
How to Download Orphan: First Kill
You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you like psychological horror films, check out also our reviews of The Others and Us.
The Movie Review
I am happy to say that I am dumb and I was wrong! You see, Orphan: First Kill is fantastic and I would go as far as to say that I liked it more than I did the first movie. I will say that the less you know about the movie going into it the more fun you will have. With that in mind, this is a spoiler-free review as I was legit mind blown by the way things went down in the movie.
We start off in Estonia in an asylum where we see Esther, or Leena if you want to call her by her real name. I thought the opening here was great as we got to see just how dangerous she could be as well as we find out a bit more in regards to her backstory. Once she is out of the asylum and has satisfied her bloodlust a bit, she sets her sights on getting out of the country.
She looks online at children who have been reported missing and finds a little girl called Esther who went missing a few years back in the USA. She sets it up so that she is found and before long, she is on her way to the USA to be with her mother, Tricia, father Allan, and brother Gunnar.
Here, we get to see just how much of a master manipulator Esther is. I have to give a ton of credit to the very talented, Isabelle Fuhrman for once again being amazing as Esther. Considering how young she was when she made the first movie, it actually made me appreciate the tremendous job she did there even more!
The movie moves along at a very brisk pace and the plot of the movie basically follows Esther trying to stay in this family, but there is a massive mind-blowing twist that happens that you do not see coming. It is this twist that really kicks the movie into high gear and has you wondering just what will happen next and who the real bad guy is!
As well as praising Isabelle Fuhrman, I also have to give major props to Julia Stiles as Tricia. This is probably my favorite Julia Stiles performance in any movie that she has been in. She is absolutely incredible and after the movie ended, I was into her character just as much as I was Esther. There is a relatively small main cast here, but that works to the movie’s advantage in my opinion.
Even though I loved the first movie, Orphan: First Kill was a movie that I was very unsure of. This has turned out to be one of the best horror/thriller movies of the year so far for me. I am so glad that I made the effort to go and see this in the theatre. If you are looking for something to keep you on the edge of your seat, I highly recommend you go and watch this!
