Orphan: First Kill 4K Review (Paramount)

Orphan: First Kill is a 2022 horror film directed by William Brent Bell (Stay Alive, The Boy franchise, Wer, Separation, Lord of Misrule, and The Devil Inside). It was written and produced by David Coggeshall (The Deliverance, The Family Plan, Prey, Scream: The TV Series, and The Haunting in Connecticut 2). It’s a prequel to 2009’s Orphan. It premiered on Paramount Plus The same day it was released in theaters. The budget was $8,000,000 and it grossed $37,083,743. After Leena (played by: Isabelle Fuhrman from Orphan, The Novice, The Hunger Games, Escape Room: Tournament of Champions, Horizon: An American Saga, and Cell) escapes from an Estonian psychiatric facility, She goes to America. She ends up impersonating the missing daughter Esther from a very wealthy Albright family that includes Tricia (played by: Julia Stiles from the Bourne franchise, Save the Last Dance, 10 Things I hate about You, Silver Linings Playbook, Dexter, and The Omen), Allen (played by: Rossif Sutherland from The Handmaid’s Tale, Three Pines, Murder in a Small Town, Trench 11, and Possessor), and Gunnar (played by: Matthew Finlan from EZRA, Brazen, and The Terror). Esther tries to adjust to her new life but she is forced to eliminate others that can’t her in lie. After time goes on and secrets are revealed, the mother protects her family from this imposter no matter what it takes!!!! Orphan: First Kill kinda pulled off the impossible here for this. The original Orphan film was made in 2009 and they somehow managed to do this prequel 13 years later with the same lead actress. It’s a rarity when someone can play themselves even younger 13 years after the original role. They used a few tricks like makeup and made the rest of the cast look taller around her. Orphan: First Kill started off with a gruesome bang with some nasty kills and violence. This really upped everything on this production for Orphan when it came to First Kill. The script shows you how to evil Leena became Esther. It’s an interesting origin story, she takes advantage of a family that’s been searching for their lost daughter and sister. Isabelle Fuhrman is fantastic as Esther. She returns to the role with ease. She is way more brutal in this compared to the first movie. Esther is not exactly a child but she definitely looks like it so it kinda fits the classic horror sub-genre. Orphan has so much potential for more to be a possible legit horror franchise. Julia Stiles makes her real cinematic comeback as Tricia Albright. She’s amazing in Orphan: First Kill. She basically plays two different sides of this mother here. She has her own dark past and Esther meets her match this time. The rest of the supporting cast includes Rossif Sutherland, Matthew Finlan, Hiro Kanagawa (iZombie), Samantha Walkes (The Kings of Napa), David Lawrence Brown (The Grudge), Lauren Cochrane (Hunter Hunter), Gwendolyn Collins (Channel Zero), Alicia Johnston (Incident in a Ghostland), Kristen Sawatzky (Joy Ride 3), and Andrea del Campo (The Hitman Never Dies). Orphan: First Kill keeps consistent suspense and intense thrilling moments especially towards the 2nd act. It’s one of the most impressive horror prequels and it’s actually better than the original Orphan. It’s very entertaining and fun experience with some strong replay value to it, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation from Paramount Pictures! This 2160p (1.85:1) transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is a nice improvement over it’s original 2022 blu ray home video release. First Kill already looked great but it’s even better now with this 4K upgrade. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on the UHD. It’s the same audio as it’s first release. It has some loud and thrilling scenes that shine here. All of the dialogue is crisp, the suspense is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH, English, and Spanish subtitles. Unfortunately, there’s no extras on this 4K just like it’s blu ray. It comes with an exclusive slipcover and a blu ray copy of the release. It’s currently only available in the Paramount Scares Vol. 2 set that can be purchased everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!