Film Review - Orphan: First Kill (2022)

Belated prequel to 2009’s killer twist cult horror revealing how evil Esther the family molester wormed her way into the Good Ole U.S. of A.

Winding the clock back two years from the murderous mayhem of the original Orphan we find 31-year-old Esther incarcerated in an Estonian mental institution. You know the type. One where sociopathic inmates roam the darkened corridors, sharp objects are casually accessible, and high security takes a backseat to low rent opportunistic perving.

As you would expect, our manipulative madam with an anti-aging gland disorder duly absconds by obliterating skulls and bribing wandering psychopaths with sweeties. One google search later and she begins masquerading as the missing child of a still grieving Connecticut family. After concocting a vague sex gulag backstory and bulldozing nonchalantly through social care protocols she sets about the Machiavellian business of exploiting her hypopituitarism to fuck their shit right up.

Director William Brent Bell’s succulent schlockfest is a guilty pleasure potboiler that harks back to the spiteful psychological thrillers of the early 1990s. Films such as Poison Ivy, Raising Cain, Single White Female, and of course Basic Instinct. It is no accident that “Maniac” from Flashdance, directed by a master of the genre Adrian Lyne, appears on the soundtrack. Orphan: First Kill even has its own bunny-boiling moment that will make you think twice about healthy dietary choices.

That being said, this crackpot cuckoo in the nest chiller has an overriding agenda, that of tapping into the goodwill and popularity of its forerunner, and naturally, that demands a plot twist of Shyamalanian proportions. The timing of this head-spinning rug pull is such that reviewing without spoilers is a tough reach but safe to say it is a gamechanger that will not disappoint fans of the original.

Even more of a talking point will be the decision to recast Isabelle Fuhrman as Esther. Much hangs on the believability of a 25-year-old woman playing a child. It is indeed a surreal visual mind messer that is both creepily discombobulating and triumphantly realised, especially as the feat is achieved with virtually no CGI effects.

Starting with the actresses’ naturally youthful looks the make-up department, spearheaded by Doug Morrow, deployed an arsenal of ingenious techniques to pull off this cinematic conjuring trick. Cosmetics were used to exaggerate some age-critical features and tone down others. Diligent airbrushing and iris widening contacts were added to the illusion as part of the uncanny regression process.

The majority of the camera work utilises a method of carefully selected angles and forced perspectives along with seamless body double work and elevated set dressing to cement the transformation. Props were exaggerated in size when in Esther’s hands and tall platform shoes were issued to her fellow cast members to diminish her stature further.

None of this meticulous attention to detail would have meant anything without a convincing performance to match and the talented Fuhrman knocks it out of the park. Stooping or squatting her way through scenes her mannerisms and vocal management are pitch perfect for both of Esther’s personas as traumatised youngster and vengeful adult shrew.

Fuhrman articulates superbly Esther’s frustration at making mistakes that could derail her lethal pantomime and makes tangible the inner pain of being saddled with a physical appearance that confines her to a lifetime of rejection. In doing so she adds complexity to an iconic horror villainess and somewhat justifies the legitimacy of this unexpected prequel. In almost any other genre strand it would easily be considered an award nomination-worthy turn.

As with its predecessor, Orphan: First Kill skates on thematically thin ice at times with all the icky uncomfortableness its outlandish concept would suggest. However, there is a heavy dollop of knowing humour to temper the tastelessness. Whether belittling her dickheaded fencing champ brother in front of his peers or deploying intricate double bluffs Esther is a simmering caricature of bottled-up evil that is always fun to watch.

Because we already know what was so carefully hidden in the first movie Orphan: First Kill plays out from an established perspective. This time the tension is drawn from the ability of the infiltrated family unit to expose Esther’s deception in time to save their ever so slightly gullible skins. Further jeopardy is derived from the cat and mouse chicanery the deranged woman-child deploys in order to confuse and evade a nosy police detective and her inquisitive therapist.

The all-important kills are splattery and sadistic straight out of the blocks and the body count is high enough to gratify gore hounds. There are also some tightly presented shock set pieces that intensify the picture’s horror credentials. Add a cool soundtrack, cold-hearted melodramatic meltdowns, some clunky yet quotable dialogue, and the run-time flys by.

Orphan: First Kill may have bigger plot holes than a sumo graveyard, but it is a polished and highly entertaining horror thriller that nails the cult status it aims for. As such it should please fans hungry for a further fix of twisty age-warping hokum.