Orphan: First Kill: Isabelle Fuhrman and William Brent Bell on How There Was Almost a New Esther

Orphan: First Kill was perhaps the biggest, and most pleasant surprise in the horror genre this year. The prequel to 2009's Orphan, First Kill offers viewers a chance to see where Esther came from, and how she got to the United States.

The original Orphan saw a family adopting a little girl from Russia, who tries to seduce her new father, kill her new mother and siblings - and it turns out (spoiler alert) that she is a 33-year-old woman with a rare hormonal disorder that makes her look like a child. The film was an instant classic in the horror community due to its simple aesthetic and well-planned twist. But after over a decade, when it was discovered that a second film was in the works, there were troubled rumblings in the horror community. Could a film that relied so heavily on a twist do it again, when everyone knew the twist?

First Kill proved that it could do just that. Rather than just a retread, the prequel shows us "Esther's" origins as a 30-year-old woman named Leena who makes a violent escape from a home for the criminally insane, how she got to the United States as a 9-year-old girl, and how her family died and she got placed with the family we saw her with in the original film. Yes, there is a twist; no, I'm not going to tell you what it is.

I was so impressed with Orphan: First Kill that I couldn't wait to sit down and chat with the star of the film, Isabelle Fuhrman, and director William Brent Bell. Fuhrman played Esther across both films, first playing Esther when she was a child, then returning to the role as an adult. For Bell, best known for his work directing The Boy and Brahms: The Boy II, this was his first entry into the franchise. We spoke about the choice to return (or to join) the franchise; that twist (no spoilers!); and how Isabelle almost wasn't brought back to play Esther!

Orphan: First Kill is currently streaming on Paramount+

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