Orphan: First Kill

And Legally-Sanctioned Racial Profiling

Sometimes, it seems like the acknowledgement that a movie has spawned a franchise is something of a spoiler. The original “Orphan” from genre vet Jaume Collet-Serra followed in the footsteps of kiddie-slashers of the past, though it had its own propulsive energy that allowed the movie to stand out within the genre. But it’s remembered today as featuring a mammoth twist that cements Isabelle Fuhrman’s performance as borderline iconic. Honestly, sans exaggeration, her work in that movie is diabolical, and merited at least some awards talk.

Of course, in talking about “Orphan: First Kill”, we’ll have to revisit that twist: at the end of that first movie, Fuhrman’s Esther was already plotting to eliminate the family that adopted her as a young girl when the viewer learns that this nine year old is actually a thirty-three year old woman with a birth defect that has caused her to age, and present, as a juvenile. Fuhrman was born in 1997, which means that when she filmed “Orphan”, she was either eleven or twelve, and she was playing a thirty-three year old woman pretending to be a nine year old. You really think Meryl Streep could have ever pulled that off?

“Orphan” was a hit back in 2009, and yet it took thirteen years to follow that picture up. It’s a gamble to sequelize a movie thirteen years after it was released when part of the gimmick relies on the character being a certain age. New director William Brent Bell somehow said, “Hah, top THAT!” and decided that the next installment in the “Orphan” universe would be a prequel! Bringing back Fuhrman forced another challenge onto her – now, she was twenty five years old, playing an early-thirties woman pretending to be… eight? Still nine? The timeline is hazy. It does seem as if forced perspective, and maybe some special effects magic, is used to reduce Fuhrman to the size she was in the earlier movie. It’s not always convincing, but it’s always amusing. You’ve got to respect the hustle.

Being a prequel changes the dynamic of this series in an interesting way. The last film revealed that Esther escaped from an Estonian mental institution, so we get to see that escape, and we watch her maneuver her way from that Eastern European enclave to America, landing in the home of a well-to-do American family. “Orphan” was about creating doubt as to who Esther was, what her intentions might be, though it largely commits to the idea that she’s just a killer kid until the third act. Since we have all that information already, the “First Kill” setup is about seeing what choices Esther makes to preserve the illusion, what to wear, how to behave. She’s also relatively new at this, so by making mistakes, she endears herself to the audience. A shift in time for this series turns her from a figure of fear into a protagonist trying to solve riddles. Fuhrman, again, makes it work.

The Albrights are at first welcoming, but it takes less time than the last movie for suspicion to set in. Artist Allen (Rossif Sutherland) falls for the ruse immediately that Esther is their missing daughter, too distracted by his work, and seemingly trying to now be a father, officially, for the first time. But it’s Tricia (Julia Stiles) who is immediately skeptical. In the first film, Vera Farmiga gave a strong performance as the mother, but she was constantly left in the dust by Esther’s plotting. Tricia isn’t having it, and she and Esther engage in a hearty cat and mouse, as if watching the killer outsmart the detective. Stiles has fun with this role as she shadows Esther’s every move, viciously pinpointing the inconsistencies in Esther’s behavior.

Bell’s movie isn’t as fun as Collet-Serra’s – the kills are more pedestrian, and the movie underestimates how easy it is to remember the most basic plot points from the first movie. If you’re expecting an over-the-top explanation as to how Esther arrives in that original “Orphan”, it’s not entirely that sensational, and “First Kill” predictably begins to shape itself like every prequel, placing pieces together for the next installment. But it’s Fuhrman that’s a delight. In that first film, she’s hiding that secret from the audience as well as the family that takes her in. Here, we know what she’s about, so we frequently see her slip in and out of the “Esther” persona, each time a little exasperated that she has to engage in this demeaning pantomime. The moments where she gets to drop the act and slip into scorned troublemaker are the highlights of a reasonably enjoyable slasher prequel.

I look back on my time incarcerated, and I recognize that everyone with whom I did time had committed some sort of act that was familiar. Crime was working the corner, hustling, moving product. Sometimes it was sexual transaction, digital domains of the pedophiles. Some guys were plain thieves and con men, always talking about how and when they could take from the next person. Now, in America, I think we need to consider that the rules are changing. Suddenly, laws are whatever the justice department wants to be.

The Supreme Court, who has vowed that higher education should no longer take skin into account, has authorized ICE to racially profile in order to make their arrests. And now politicians are backing laws that may criminalize free speech. We’re now potential criminals because of our skin, and because of our opinions. This is not exactly what the founding fathers had in mind. Of course, this started out being how the government could take anything we say and claim “terrorist” with little oversight. But recent developments have made it clear they’re going to put cuffs on anyone who isn’t 100% simpatico with them if they so please. Stuff like this, to be fair, sounds like a logistical nightmare to actually pull it off. But the law is a lethal weapon, and the only people more dangerous than someone with a weapon they know how to use are people who have a weapon they don’t know how to use. If you wanted to consider how America dies, this would be a pretty convincing forecast.

Next week, cut a swath with me, it’s SLASHER WEEK!