Directed By William Brent Bell

Starring – Isabelle Fuhrman, Julia Stiles, Rossif Sutherland

The Plot – After orchestrating a brilliant escape from an Estonian psychiatric facility, Esther (Fuhrman) travels to America by impersonating the missing daughter of a wealthy family. Yet, an unexpected twist arises that pits her against a mother (Stiles) who will protect her family from the murderous “child” at any cost.

Rated R for bloody violence, adult language and brief sexual content

ORPHAN: FIRST KILL | Official Trailer | Paramount Movies – YouTube

POSITIVES

Very few sequels have the freedom or capability to conjure something truly innovative for the prominence of the franchise, but “First Kill” sifts through a superior second half on its way to a complete tonal shift that the script completely embraces with open arms. It begins with another twist, this time midway through the film, that not only re-evaluates the stakes and circumstances of the many character dynamics, but also proves that much about this chapter is going to be different, with regards to the direction of the conflict. For some, this might test their investment for the worse, saddling them with questionable motives and corresponding characters, but for me it was devilishly delightful, etching out a layer of unpredictability that I truly wasn’t in a prequel with limited movements of character to begin with. For the aforementioned tonal shift, the film doesn’t completely break the fourth wall, but it bends it in ways that revel in the hilarious dialogue and intentionally over the top acting, throwing as much chaos and lunacy at the screen as fictional cinema can conjure, like a scene-halting spin through Michael Sembello’s “Maniac”, which elicits a care-free good time with a few intentional laughs at its disposal. For those captured in such, the duo of Furhman and Stiles provide an impeccable dynamic, with Isabelle floating seamlessly back into the role that made her a star. While she’s directed this time with a complete lack of subtlety, the facial registries are still very much there for her, and that transferrable connection that she shares with the audience, still churns as much unnerving resonance in the stomachs of its various audiences. For Stiles, it’s easily her best work in a decade, with an evolutionary arc that supplants more than a few against type releases, while matching Fuhrman beat for beat on gritty resilience. Finally, if there’s one thing that this film does better than the original, it’s in the pacing of a 93-minute run time that maintains the urgency of its narrative. This is particularly felt during the first act, which materializes the plot effectively and organically without any of the heaviness of backstory exposition that can feel convoluted with new characters, but also in the climactic final twenty minutes, which directly undercut scenes of set-up to take us directly into the heat of the engagement, while feeding into the spontaneity of the situations inspiring the many unpredictable actions of its characters because of such.

NEGATIVES

While “Orphan: First Kill” is a relative to the 2009 smash hit, it is anything but biological, with an inferior direction here from Bell that can’t even consistently register the most basic of creative concepts from its superior predecessor. Bell not only rids this film of any momentary suspense or nuance in subtleties, but he also stitches with it an abundance of obvious cliches in everything from limited workers in an asylum to far too easy escape plans, that can’t ever keep you from forcefully rolling your eyes at the litter of convenience displayed throughout. If that doesn’t bother you, the movie’s production certainly should, with Fuhrman, now 25, playing in a prequel the exact same character that she played in the 2009 movie. My problem isn’t so much the age thing, as that’s explained with the twist of the previous film, but rather the visual continuity from one film to the next, which Fuhrman looks obviously world’s different than she did in a film that takes place around the same time. To combat this problem, the production uses tight angles from the waist up, stilt shoes on Stiles to make her appear feet taller than her youthful co-star, and a child body double during scenes of clever editing. To be short, it didn’t work in suppressing my disbelief, as Isabelle’s face never even remotely conveyed what the film tried so forcefully to convince us of, all the while distracting us even more with dialogue laying it on thickly with lines like “She’s not the same girl she once was” or “Well, Russia can change a little girl”. While on the subject of underwhelming production values, the presentation for the film is equally distracting, with a foggy, ugly color scheme conveying what feels like dream sequences constantly throughout. I honestly was expecting a wake-up scene casually throughout the film, but it turns out this is the one cliche that it doesn’t attempt, in turn leaving much of the visuals lacking personality or atmosphere toward at least fooling us into something compelling. Beyond these aspects, the movie’s body count can’t even conjure something stimulating for our troubles, leading to bland, underwhelming kills that are as limited in numbers as they are watered down in execution. For a movie with the cherished R-rating at its disposal, this is one of the flattest exercises in its use, with only one that is remotely in focus, while the others are handicapped with hindering editing and poor camera placement that completely obscure the detectability of the depiction.

OVERALL
“Orphan: First Kill” does acceptingly embrace the air of its genetic make-up, but it’s contained with bland direction and a bewildering production that keep it from reaching the heights of its daring predecessor. Though better than initially expected, the film is of the ‘Too little, too late’ sentiment, with the rare sequel in which the lead actress has literally and figuratively outgrown her character’s clutches.

My Grade: 5/10 or D+