Orphan: First Kill
Orphan: First Kill is an entertaining and a surprisingly satisfying prequel to the original cult classic.
The film follows the homicidal Leena as she escapes a mental institution and starts posing as a family’s missing 8 year old daughter.
Firstly, it should be addressed that there is a massive 13 year gap between the prequel and the original film. In addition to this, the new film brings a new director, new writer and an almost entirely new cast. True to the original, Isabelle Furhman returns as Leena, a character she originally played at the age of just 10 years old. In a surprisingly excellent casting, Julia Stiles (10 things I hate about you) also gives a compelling performance as a tenacious mother and a worthy opponent for the deranged Leena.
The film seems to be somewhat self aware in its absurdity and slightly leans into a few moments of comic relief.
In theory, the movie should be a cheesy train wreck, however instead we received a funny, clever and exciting tale that will have you (guiltily) rooting for the villian.
In contrast to its predecessor, First Kill swaps the original's suspense and creepiness for an onslaught of violent and bloody scenes.
The film was perhaps most impressive in Furhman's ability to play the same character, over a full decade later. While admittedly, there are some scenes where Furhman clearly no longer convincingly resembles a eight year old child, they have done a commendable job through clever edits, lighting and body doubles that make you almost forget that she is a 25 year old woman (...playing a 30 year old woman... that resembles an eight year old child).
