Orphan: First Kill Review

gamerant.com:

Orphan: First Kill isn't impressive on any particular level, but it does manage to avoid the most obvious pitfall a prequel to Orphan would suffer. It isn't a page-one retread of the original film, nor is it a self-indulgent mess obsessed with stuff fans demanded from the first film. Instead, it's a semi-competent thriller with one or two decent twists.

The original film's director is busy with Black Adam at the moment, so the prequel comes to cinemas and streaming from William Brent Bell. Bell isn't the most respected horror filmmaker in Hollywood, with hilarious video game horror film Stay Alive, the tragic Boy franchise, and The Devil Inside under his belt. At the risk of damning with faint praise, Orphan: First Kill may be his best film yet.

Will Orphan: First Kill Be A Solid Prequel?

Those who haven't seen the first Orphan film should go and watch it first because First Kill spoils it in the first few minutes. It's also generally a better film that serves as a solid litmus test for the prequel. The aspects of First KIll's story that are interesting wouldn't be particularly notable to someone who hadn't seen the original and anyone who didn't enjoy the 2009 thriller won't have their mind changed. The first film is something of a mystery. A lot of its selling point is tied up in what exactly is going on with the titular orphan, a little Russian girl named Esther. Once the film answers the central question, it's mostly over, but the prequel seeks to build upon the original with a new idea.

Despite the title, the plot of First Kill does not depict little Esther's first murder. Instead, it tells the story that leads immediately to the beginning of the 2009 original. Isabelle Fuhrman reprises her role as Esther Albright, real