ORPHAN: FIRST KILL

We all remember the film Orphan and the crazy path that went down back in 2009, right? Well, if you haven't seen that film yet, make sure you do before coming along to Orphan: First Kill, a prequel that brings us back to Esther and her origin of sorts.

After escaping from a psychiatric facility in Estonia, Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman) travels to America by impersonating the missing daughter of a wealthy family. Yet, an unexpected problem arises that pits her against a mother (Julia Stiles) who will protect her family at any cost.

It's been over a decade since we last saw Isabelle Fuhrman as Esther which makes it quite an odd thing that a prequel never came sooner, particularly with the actress now being in her mid-twenties. There's also the whole twist that the first film delivered us which had me skeptical they could pull off this prequel with everyone knowing what we know about Esther. That set a challenge for the writing team and luckily they find a way to make this another surprising entry into the franchise. Without spoiling, there's plenty to catch you off guard here. 

A lot of it does take major suspension of disbelief, which is fine as a lot of films need that these days, but the first film had that and it worked a treat. Yes there is some ropey dialogue thrown in here and there, and as the plot unravels you might find yourself laughing with a hint of "what the fuck?!" but there's no denying this is an entertaining affair that would work well with a crowd. The audacity of that bitch Esther is something to be lauded.

Isabelle Fuhrman is the main reason Orphan: First Kill works as well as it does, selling the shit out of her performance as Esther to deliver a creepy and thrilling turn in the villainous role. If you haven't seen her work in the recent film The Novice it's definitely worth checking out because Fuhrman is certainly an actress to keep an eye on in the future. Julia Stiles plays the matriarch of the family Esther intrudes and she plays it so coy until a certain moment changes her character totally, Stiles revelling in the chance to change it up a bit.

Skeptical about it at first, I kind of had a blast with Orphan: First Kill, a prequel that fares much better than I ever thought it would. Neither a game-changer or an awful entry into the horror genre, it sits quite firmly on middle ground and sometimes that's a good thing.

Verdict: ★★★