Orphan: First Kill Trailer Brings Back the Deadly Esther

One of the more unsettling horror experiences of 2009 was the film Orphan, which was partially inspired by a real-world experience, with that film now getting a follow-up in the form of Orphan: First Kill. In that film, Isabelle Fuhrman played the young Esther, and with this new film serving as a prequel and seeing Fuhrman reprising her role, horror fans are already fascinated by the idea that the adult actor will be reprising her child-like role. You can check out the trailer above to get our first look at the new film, which will be landing in theaters, On Demand, and on Paramount+ on August 19th.

The new film is described, “Esther’s terrifying saga continues in this thrilling prequel to the original and shocking horror hit, Orphan. After orchestrating a brilliant escape from an Estonian psychiatric facility, Esther travels to America by impersonating the missing daughter of a wealthy family. Yet, an unexpected twist arises that pits her against a mother who will protect her family from the murderous ‘child’ at any cost.”

Joining Fuhrman in the new film are Rossif Sutherland and Julia Stiles.

Fuhrman isn’t the first actor to reprise a role in which they are meant to appear younger, with recent attempts at such a feat often relying on CGI to modify a performer’s appearance. Instead, First Kill utilized practical effects, makeup, and modified perspective to give the idea that Esther has a much smaller stature.

“I love the challenge of being able to play a kid because that’s never historically been done in cinema — I was like looking all this up, because I love looking up old movie history and things like that, and I was like, ‘Oh, an adult has never reprised the role that they played as a child,’” Furhman revealed to The Hollywood Reporter. “Will Smith, for example, recently did that movie [Gemini Man] where they de-age somebody, but to reprise a role that you literally did as a kid as an adult has never been done before. It’s kind of impossible. And we did it. We didn’t use special effects, we didn’t use any crazy makeup tricks. And I think that’s what makes the movie work, is because you really can’t figure out how I look like a [nine-year-old], but I do. And it’s really creepy.”

She continued, “I was there every day. I know how we did this. I know all the tricks, and I’m so thoroughly disturbed right now, because I somehow am nine years old again, and it doesn’t make any sense … I was like, ‘How do I revisit this part and then also convincingly play a kid?’ Because that was the easy part last time, the hard part was trying to be an adult. Now the hard part is I have to be kid.”

Orphan: First Kill lands in theaters, On Demand, and on Paramount+ on August 19th.

Are you looking forward to the new movie? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!