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| courtesy Paramount Pictures |
Coming far too long after the first movie, Orphan: First Kill is just another example of a studio attempting to draw blood from a stone. When Orphan came along, it was a much needed break from the franchise horror and lower budget gore that was filling that genre space. In 2022, Cashing in on Esther's unknown history devolves the character and really cheapens the mild greatness of the first story but does score some high points for camera work and use of angles to bring her back to the screen.
Years before her run in with Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard, Esther winds up with another family where nothing is as it seems. Carried by an excellent performance from an overtly melodramatic Julia Stiles, the terrifying and absolutely insane Esther is loosed on a family that's in a different state of mourning. After their child has gone missing, a new brood of damaged folks allow her into their home. Esther takes up the persona of their long lost daughter and all hell breaks loose.... again.
Unfortunately, even with some interesting writing, the lower budget and support cast fails to deliver anything worthwhile. Awful CGI work takes it down another notch. Adding a horribly rendered finale and showdown just destroys any momentum they make throughout their short run time.
The most interesting part of Orphan: First Kill is their dedication to making an obviously much older Isabelle Fuhrman appear to be the size of a child. The dedication to using camera angles and perspective is something to be adored. Yet, the film falters in creating anything meaningful in the story department. Most of the plotting is absolutely absurd. No one in their right mind would actually believe this small person is less than 25 years old. Fuhrman, now 13 years older (of course), is not even close to believable as a child. And the continuity between the two films is notable due to that specific change. They would have been better off recasting the role instead of using trickery to pull this off. It doesn't work. At all.
Adding to the pile of negatives is a lazy script that begs, steals, and borrows from numerous other far greater genre entries. Unfortunately enough, Orphan: First Kill is a sad representation of where streaming releases may be headed. Yes, this is getting a dual release that also saw it hit cinemas this weekend. But you can guarantee that most will be watching this at home as part of a Paramount Plus subscription because it's not worth paying any admission.
Fuhrman has the dramatic chops to still make Esther terrorizing, but her counterparts other than Stiles honestly made this a hard watch. Along with a hampered script that barely limps along, this First Kill is a step backwards for horror in general and reminiscent of dozens of horror prequels that lost the charm of their predecessor. This gets high marks for creativity in the filming department but fails in almost every other sense.
-CG
