Hello everyone! My name is Sara De Vault (She/Her). Since this is my first article for LGBT Fresno, I will take a moment to introduce myself. I am a demigirl, lesbian, and polyamorous. I have girlfriend. I also sing opera at Fresno City College and am a perpetual student. I don’t think I will ever stop wanting to learn something new. I have 3 Associate of Arts degrees and a Bachelor of Science degree and will be adding another Associate of Arts degree this December.
Now, I don’t want to give away all my secrets at once, so I’ll leave it at that for now. I’m sure you will learn more about me the more articles I write.
For my first movie review I will be covering is The Orphan: First Kill. First kill is a prequel to the popular film, Orphan, that was made in 2009. First Kill takes place in 2007 and tells the story of how Leena Klammer, a 31-year-old woman escapes the Saarne Institute in Estonia and makes her way to the United States of America under the guise of Esther, a 9-year-old girl who was abducted. She can do this because Leena has a condition called hypopituitarism. This condition is a hormonal condition that causes proportional dwarfism and therefore she will look like a child for the rest of her life.
The moment Esther is brought home there is happiness within the family. The dad (Allen) is even more excited than the mom (Trisha) and brother (Gunnar) though. Perhaps they are confused or in shock? She does have a Russian accent now. And after being gone for a few years, she would be different than when she was last with them. She has talents and interests that she didn’t have before, such as painting and playing the piano. But, in a plot twist, not only does Esther have her secrets, but her new family does as well.
Of course, Allen is innocent in all of this and just happy to have his little girl home again. And happy that he can share his love of painting with her now. He is none-the-wiser to his wife and son’s secret. You see, it is impossible for their darling Esther to be back. Come to find out, Esther wasn’t abducted like everyone is made to believe. Gunnar killed Esther and Trisha buried her, hence the trepidation from the mom and brother. They know it’s not actually Esther.
Trisha eventually confronts Esther and gets the scoop on who she really is, and Esther finds out about Trisha and Gunnar’s secret as well. They realize they all have things to hide and therefore all have a reason to keep their mouths shut about each other. So, they continue both of their acts for a while as it benefits them both. But eventually Trisha takes exception to Esther trying to seduce Allen, and all bets are off. Then the question becomes who’s more insane, Leena or Trisha and Gunnar? Now, if you’ve seen the first Orphan movie, you can imagine how this movie ends. And if you haven’t, well I’m not going to ruin that for you. You’ll just have to see it for yourself.
Many people do not realize that both Orphan and The Orphan: First Kill are based on true events. Which, in my opinion, makes the stories even more interesting. Because of this, a third movie is being discussed, a sequel to The Orphan, so that we can dive even deeper into Leena’s dark and twisted story. Director William Brent Bell has said that, should The Orphan: First Kill be a successful prequel, he would make a third movie. And I for one, hope it is successful because I want to see more of what happens after the Orphan movie time frame!
The Orphan movies are both classified as horror/thriller films. However, I don’t get much horror from the movie, other than some murders and blood. It’s more of a psychological thriller in my opinion. Which isn’t bad, but I would like more horror from a horror movie. But then again, not much scares me in horror movies, so that might be a big ask from me. The story itself is interesting to me though and would love to see more come from these movies. So, for these reasons I’d give this movie a 8/10.
Catch it in theatres and streaming now on Paramount +
