Orphan: First Kill - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Orphan: First Kill



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
I actually wasn’t expecting a sequel to the mediocre 2009 film Orphan, but 13 years later it comes out as a Paramount+ exclusive, and then a Blu-ray release. Orphan wasn’t a bad movie back in 2009 (I still have my Blu-ray and this sequel prompted me to give it a second spin), but it was generic and derivative, only saved by 12 year old Isabelle Fuhrman who gave a creepy performance as Esther, a monstrous child with a hidden secret (a staple of the 1980s and 1990s). However, a prequel? Not sure how that would work.

Spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen Orphan (it’s kind of necessary). Orphan: First Kill not only strange because it was a prequel nobody asked for, but strange in that it actually stars Isabelle Fuhrman 13 years later, still playing an 11 year old girl (they make it work due to her being only 5 foot 3 inches, but have to use a body double for far away shots to make the height differential work when standing next to someone). The film opens up in Estonia, where we are introduced to Lena (Isabelle Fuhrman) who is staying an institution due to being a psychotic killer who suffers from a strange variation of dwarfism that not only stunts her growth, but stunts her features so she perpetually looks like a per-pubescent girl. Stabbing her way out of the institution, Lena decides to look for missing children who look like her, and finally land on the Albrights who have been missing their daughter Esther for several years.

Problem is, Esther is in Estonia, and the Albrights are in America. Well, a little storytelling and Esther is transported to America where her new “old” family are there to welcome her with open arms. Mother Tricia (Julia Stiles) is reticent when she sees her, but father Allen (Rossif Sutherland) is absolutely overjoyed. Esther figures it’s going to be an easy con where she can rob them blind and end everything with a tidy accident to get herself in the clear. However, the tables are turned when it’s found out that Tricia knows a little more than she let on initially, and Esther starts to develop feelings for the artistic Allen. Soon it’s a gigantic cat and mouse game as Esther and Tricia dance a tight rope of intrigue and murder to keep their secrets safe.

Orphan: First Kill is really no more special than the previous movie. It’s a rather cliched “evil child” thriller that we’ve been privy to for decades. It’s actually rather neat that Isabelle Fuhrman came back for the role that she made as an ACTUAL 12 year old child in 2009, this time as a 25 year old playing an 11 year old (yeah, say that 12 times fast). It sort of stretches the sense of believability though, as Isabelle is VERY obviously a grown woman, and despite trick angles, body doubles, and lots and lots of makeup it’s hard to swallow that she’s supposed to look like a child. The plot itself is rather stale, but it’s still rather entertaining even though you can pretty much predict all of the beats and twists before they even happen due to being a very well worn genre. It’s never truly AWFUL, but can’t seem to elevate itself past being “decent” (which is pretty much the fate of the original 2009 film as well).




Rating:

Rated R for bloody violence, language and brief sexual content




Video:

Orphan: First Kill’s 1080p encode is not exactly an attractive one, but is still rather competently done from a technical standpoint. The image is heavily noisy and grainy looking, with a diffused look that looks like gauze and Vaseline were smeared all over the picture. Cool blues and light browns dominate, and the monochromatic nature of the blue tone tends to rob the image of detail levels (along with the milky black levels). I didn’t notice any major banding or anything, but the milky dark levels do make it so that crush is a bit problematic. Faces and skin tones are very solid, especially when Tricia and Esther are out in the sunlight going places. Inside it’s a bit dimmer and duller, with splashes of bright primary colors (like the red from Tricia’s torn dress, or the pink of Esther’s dress) can pop through and liven things up.









Audio:

I’m used to horror movies from Paramount/Warner/Sony to have KILLER audio mixes (pun intended), but First Kill is much more subdued and flaccid than I was expecting. Much like the video score, it does things decently enough, but never enough to really be that exciting. The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is very front heavy, and I noticed that dialog seemed to be rather dulled and muted, even though it’s centered up front where it’s supposed to be. Surrounds get a moderate amount of activity (usually from the score or a few crashes and bangs during the final confrontation as the house burns down). Ambiance is solid, with good main activity and even a few moments of really heavy bass (the train, a few jump scares). Once again, the 5.1 mix is never BAD, it’s just never exciting either.












Extras:

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Final Score: ​

As a horror fan I’m used to mediocre sequels in the genre. Orphan: First Kill just happens to be a mediocre sequel to a mediocre original, so if you liked the original flick, then this really isn’t going to be much different. It was nice to see Isabelle come back for the role 13 years later, but the Blu-ray audio and video are pretty “meh” due to the shooting style of the film. Extras are non existent, and overall this is your typical rental “evil kid” horror movie. Lazy, sloppy, but generally fun enough to watch the girl stab and manipulate her way through her new family (even though I don’t get why it was called First Kill. The film states outright that Lena/Esther has killed several times before, but aw well). Decent Rental.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Isabella Fuhrman, Julia Stiles, Rossif Sutherland, Hiro Kanagawa, Matthew Finlan
Directed by: William Brent Bell
Written by: David Coggeshall (screenplay), David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (Story by), Alex Mace (Story by)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DVS
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, English
Studio: Paramount
Rated: R
Runtime: 99 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: October 18th, 2022

Recommendation: Rental

 

[Asere]

Thanks for the review. I thought this one was good but enjoyed the original better.

 

[Michael Scott]

Thanks for the review. I thought this one was good but enjoyed the original better.

Yeah. It's not bad. Just not as fun as the original. I was still entertained