We first saw the first movie for this series, entitled Orphan, in which a couple adopted a nine-year old orphan after losing a child. It turns out, this orphan is not a nine-year-old but a complete adult, a con-artist and a thief who has been disguising herself as a child. The disturbed child was Esther and after 13 years, they are yet again coming to another story of Esther, but this time, they are showing us how it all started and who she really is.
In the new sequel, entitled, Orphan: First Kill, the story starts with Esther(not her real name) played by Isabelle Furman, the same actress who played in the first sequel, she’s living in a mental hospital, she planted a successful escape plan in which she started her disguised as a kid who got lost when she was a child, hence, her name Esther. She then was found and sent back to her supposedly family however, the tricky part is, her Mother, played by Julia Stiles, was getting suspicious of Esther from the very start unlike her dad who suffered depression when they lost Esther, he doesn’t notice the difference of Esther from when she was still the real Esther and now that she is an impostor. The character of Julia Stiles has kept so many secrets including the secrets about the real Esther, that’s why she knows that Esther is an impostor and is not their real daughter.
The Verdict
I don’t think there’s a need to make this whole review very long because we all know who wins in this movie coz it is supposedly a prequel, meaning it was set before the first movie and if you have watched the first movie, it is easier for you to predict the conclusion of the movie, however, if you didn’t watch the 2009 movie yet, I think this is your chance to watch this movie first before watching that one because I think it’s just the rightful thing to do and it will be more favorable to the viewers because yes, it is easier to watch films if they are in order.
One thing that the viewers will notice is that Isabelle Furman of course have urgent undoubtedly so in this film, it is more obvious that Isabelle is already old, compared to the first movie and there were also behind the scene footages in which they showcase the trick they used to make Isabelle a child or at least smaller than her co-stars. Yes, they wear platform heels to look for taller than Isabelle. Kudos to Director Bell for that coz I can’t even believe how hard it is to shoot without using CGI, and even in an interview, Isabelle said she was only squatting the whole time which is literally a very hard task although by the looks of the movie, it turned out great. In the eyes, of those perfectionist, of course, they will see how the whole thing was staged to make Isabelle look younger but she doesn’t look that old, it is just weird because as a viewer, if you have watched the old film, you’ll really notice the difference.
The movie is great, plot was adventurous and of course, Julia Stiles was phenomenal as ever and I can’t help but praise the whole production not only the actors. I love the plot so much coz it’s not only the scare, it’s the twist and turn of events that made it more exciting to watch. I would’ve preferred a character like Julia if a third sequel is about to happen coz why not? someone who could beat Esther at her own game will be much favorable. I’d love to see that someday.
Actually, the whole film revolved only with Julia and Esther, like the father and the child were just extras but the whole plot was actually made for two different characters and the build up of the story was like from nothing to everything.
All in all, I would highly recommend the movie, moreover, I would recommend for viewers to watch the First Kill first then the 2009 Orphan movie coz it will give them more idea about the whole history of Esther. I would definitely give this a 94% wonderroanne rating.
Wonder Roanne 