Orphan: First Kill — Movie Review
by KJ Proulx
While I’m not a big fan of the original Orphan film, I will say that I fall on the positive side and was curious enough to visit a sequel. I thought it was strange when I heard another film was being made, and even more surprised that it would be a prequel, given that the young actress is now much older, but here we are. On a reported budget of about half a million dollars, this film very much feels it. Orphan: First Kill does some things better than the original, but I ultimately feel the same way. Here’s why, if you’re a big fan of the first, you should check this out.
After escaping a psychiatric hospital in Estonia, Ether, a woman with growth defects, decides to impersonate a family’s daughter who has been presumed missing. Looking enough like her, the family, after their daughter has been missing for years, begins to accept her back into the family, accent and all. This was a slight stretch for me, but I went with it. Orphan: First Kill is as simple as the fact that she impersonates their daughter and eventually becomes the character from the first film. Nothing more, nothing less. What I will say, however, is that this film has a fantastic twist that I didn’t see coming.
About halfway through the film, something happens that caught me completely off-guard and the rest of the film became much more interesting to me. Julia Styles as the mother was great but it was really the father, played by Rossif Sutherland that made this film worthwhile. His chemistry with Esther (played by Isabelle Fuhrman) made the story a little more heartbreaking, as his character was very likeable. My biggest gripe with this film though is the fact that it looks disgusting. It’s hard to see certain scenes and I get that is clearly an atmosphere choice or possibly even a budget issue, but I found myself squinting, even during daylight scenes. It was a very distracting film to look at.
Overall, I thought the film was too similar to the first in terms of what happens and the visual style completely took me out of the viewing experience. I will say that the overall story was better, but it’s not enough to warrant a recommendation on that alone. Orphan: First Kill will not win you over if you’re not a fan of the original, nor will it make the original any better or worse. As long as you know what you’re in for, as I said, there’s a very enjoyable twist that sends the movie in an unexpected direction. It’s an okay movie overall, but if you love the first film, I’m sure you’ll like this one as well.
Rating: 3/5
Check out the trailer below:
