![]() When Esther/Leena arrives, she’s suspicious of her intentions from the get-go because of this, as she knows that she’s an impostor. Yet it’s hardly a compelling or meaningful addition to her story but then again, that concern seems so 2000s in today’s climate. Instead, it’s another outing of hers that feels somewhat like mediocre fan fiction elevated by a string of well-executed elements like acting, atmosphere and subversion of expectations. But First Kill isn’t a look at the ‘why’ or ‘how’ of Esther’s violent habits as after all, she is a psychopath. Fuhrman is still unsettlingly fantastic in portraying this monster, the setting is similarly drab and the plot, at its most basic, is the same as the first. Whether ‘Orphan: First Kill’ is better than the first one comes down to how the viewer chooses to look at the relationship between the two. While ‘The Glory of Love’ is a leitmotif, Collet-Serra’s iteration thankfully didn’t involve this modish practice of juxtaposing mid-20th century crooners against violent scenarios that completely override their bittersweet or positive essence. The sight of blood splattering on a child’s face as she ruthlessly murders someone was disturbing in the original but here, it’s an overused and lazy callback that isn’t nearly as disconcerting. ![]() ![]() If the incident leading up to her being put up for adoption is correct, the backstory of it certainly isn’t. In ‘Orphan’, Sister Abigail refers to Esther’s previous family as one she was adopted by. The elephant in the room that never quite leaves us though is how the makers allowed such a serious oversight in a central plot element. First Kill also is significantly shorter than its predecessor and is hence a lot more briskly paced, which never comes in the way of the story unfolding itself, even though it really is more complex than ‘Orphan’. The director, William Brent Bell (The Boy, The Devil Inside), isn’t the most well-equipped to deal with this but that’s where the central twist really comes in handy. We know quite well now that Esther is a murderous psychopath so the horror and terror of ‘Orphan’ is transitioned into suspense. lt still doesn’t explain how exactly a girl who has spent her entire life in Estonia can speak fluent enough English to trick Americans into believing she used to be one of them, but that’s far from the major problem. Either in an elaborate manner or in passing, we are slowly made germane to how Esther picked up her characteristic traits, like singing ‘The Glory of Love’ or her penchant for luminous paint which, like her, hides something far greater than what appears to be on the surface. As far as being a prequel goes, it does everything that’s expected from a standard one.
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