We’re just 10 days away from the long-awaited theatrical release of Orphan: First Kill, the prequel to the widely successful and critically acclaimed psychological horror opening installment.
As we count down the days to discovering Esther’s (or should we say Lena’s) backstory, Empire have shared an exclusive clip that allows Leena — not Esther as we know her — to steal the spotlight for a chilling minute and 40 seconds.
Just under a month ago, we received the official trailer for Orphan: First Kill, along with its accompanying poster. In the footage, we saw Isabelle Fuhrman, who portrays Esther/Lena, donning the frilly lace dresses and pigtails to embody the 33-year-old Leena impersonating a 9-year-old Esther. Rather than using extensive CGI effects to regress the now 25-year-old Fuhrman, director William Brent Bell chose to use some camera trickery and makeup to achieve that same illusion.
In the exclusive clip, which can be viewed above, Leena meets Anna Troyev (Gwendolyn Collins), a concerned visitor to (supposedly) the mental asylum where she is being kept. She asks Leena (who appears younger than she is) if her parents work there (at the asylum) and after prolonged silence, Leena replies, “Why would you think that?”
All the while, Leena is slowly preparing to shiv Anna with a sharpened pencil. The whole scene is bathed in blood-red lighting that flickers intermittently. While the audience presumes that Anna is done for, the ward assistants interrupt the conversation before it escalates, effectively saving Anna’s life.
In addition to Fuhrman in the titular role, Orphan: First Kill stars Julia Stiles as Tricia Albright, Matthew Finlan as Gunnar Albright, Rossif Sutherland as Allen Albright and Jade Michael as Addison.
Orphan: First Kill will be showing in select theaters, on digital and streaming on Paramount Plus from Aug. 19, 2022.
