We’re just four days away from Orphan: First Kill and director William Brent Bell has been gushing over the Orphan prequel right before its long-awaited release. On August 19, the whole world will be re-introduced to Leena Klammer, also known as Esther, a “nine-year-old” Russian girl adopted by the Colemans during the events of Orphan, which eventually led to the death of John Coleman and several others in Esther’s wake.
As Orphan fans will remember, there’s a surprising twist in the final act of Jaume Collet-Serra’s psychological horror that reveals Esther to be a 33-year-old Estonian woman called Leena Klammer, who suffers from a rare hormonal disorder called hypopituitarism, which stunted her growth and caused proportional dwarfism, thus giving her the appearance of a nine-year-old. While posing as a young girl, Esther has cycled through several foster families, all of whom she has either traumatized or killed. William Brent Bell, the director of Orphan: First Kill, promises that the prequel will have another shocking twist, only hoping that it lives up to audiences’ expectations after Orphan set the bar so high.
Speaking to MovieWeb, Bell shares minor details about Orphan: First Kill‘s twist, explaining that the screenwriters refused to participate in a sequel unless it had the same shock value as the first, but after reading over the finished script, he’s convinced that audiences will love what’s in store.
“Alex, David Leslie Johnson, and David Coggeshall who created the script, they didn’t want to move forward with another movie until they had a great twist. It took them a long time to kind of have an ‘aha’ moment where I was like, ‘this could really work.’ From my perspective, when I read the script, I knew there was going to be a twist, and I was very skeptical that I would like it, but I did, even looking for it. We have a first movie that has such an infamous twist, a well-regarded twist that fans love so much, myself included, and it’s a lot to live up to the expectations. So, we just wanted to make sure that it landed, and that it was fun for audiences and satisfying, and lived up to the original as much as we could.”
After escaping from a mental asylum in Estonia, Leena travels to America to begin posing as Esther, a nine-year-old orphan and missing daughter of a wealthy family. In the prequel, Leena/Esther will encounter Julia Stiles’ character, Tricia Albright, a determined mother who will stop at nothing to protect her family. When a murderous child meets an overbearing mother, tensions rise and the stakes become higher than ever in a literal fight between good and evil.
Isabelle Fuhrman will reprise her role as Leena/Esther from Orphan without digital alterations — purely camera trickery and makeup — despite being 25 years old. Julia Stiles, as mentioned, will be playing Tricia Albright, but joining them are Rossif Sutherland, Matthew Finlan, Hiro Kanagawa, Jade Michael, and Samantha Walkes.
Having already begun its theatrical run in some parts of the world — including the Philippines — Orphan: First Kill has already racked up over $268,017 at the box office, and its US release promises even more commercial success.
Orphan: First Kill arrives in theaters on August 19, 2022.
Published: Aug 15, 2022 11:50 am