PSYCHOPATH ESTHER LEVELS UP IN THIS CHILLING 'ORPHAN' PREQUEL. (Spoiler Warning)

Note : This review will reference both Esther’s. The main character played by Isabelle Fuhrman, the Esther imposter , will be known by her legal name Leena . This will distinguish her from the missing child she impersonates, the real Esther Albright .

Those who have seen Orphan know how this story ends by how the original begins. Esther starts in an Estonian asylum, comes to America posing as a child, and slaughters her way through a series of families. Therefore, Orphan: First Kill would need a dramatic twist to keep the audience guessing. There's no doubt about Esther's secrets, but what about her new family? With a random google search, Esther finds the photo of a missing child similar enough to her. That's not all she resembles. The home she infiltrates harbors its own share of dirty secrets. Can our charming little psychopath handle their level of crazy?

It can't be easy to make a prequel 13 years after the fact, which is enough time for Orphan star Isabelle Fuhrman to grow, from a child into an adult, out of the role. However, she is such a brilliant actress that no one else could fill the role. Thus, Director William Brent Bell used a mix of practice effects and two child body doubles to pull it off.

With this cinematic wizardry in use, intriguing plot points can easily slip through the cracks. Not only do we learn how she gets to America, but we also witness her development as a con artist. With each family she scams, she becomes more cunning and manipulative to mask her brutally violent episodes. That manipulative streak doesn't come as naturally as the violence. This is a trait she learns from her first American mother, Tricia Albright.

After her methodical escape from the mental facility, she searches for a new country to begin again. What better place than targeting a wealthy family in "the Land of Opportunity"? She picks the profile of a look-alike missing child, which seems like an easy mark. However, the Albright family is anything but easy to con.

Tricia turns out to be just as evil as her surrogate daughter, while the original Esther lies dead at the bottom of the well, all thanks to her psychotic brother and narcissistic mother. She would rather hide the truth about her murdered daughter to protect Gunnar, her obvious favorite child. The only person in the family who is distraught by the case of the missing child is the family's patriarch, Allen. Knowing nothing of the evil lurking under his own roof, he would have no insight into another evil walk through the door. Instead, he welcomes Leena without a second because he is so desperate to complete his family again. Or perhaps, he's tired of being left alone with two people so devoid of love that he would welcome a stranger to feel that love again. It's amazing what the desperate can overlook. Such a dynamic appears perfect for Leena to infiltrate. So she thinks.

Instead, Leena finds a bigger farce than her con. Tricia claims that family means everything to her, but that is simply not true. Her family is very unwell with a depressed patriarch and a violent son. Instead, she cares more about control and public image. Underneath the surface of a caring, attentive mother, there is an abusive monster. With Leena on the scene, she has a fresh scapegoat on whom to unleash her rage. It doesn't take long at all to show her true colors to the murderous dwarf, and a battle of wits begins. A master manipulator declares war on a brutal murderer.

There is no doubt which woman comes out of this struggle victorious. We know how this ends as referenced in Orphan (2009). The entire family dies, and the house burns to the ground along with all its dark secrets. This is more than a victory or the beginning of a pattern for Leena/Esther. Her first American family inadvertently teaches her how to develop her scam with the Albright family in Orphan . She realizes that she needs to step up her brutality if she wants her scam to succeed in America.

By the time she moves on to the Colemans, she adopts many of the Albrights' manipulative traits. As her sign language lessons prove in Orphan , she is a very quick study. Here are parallels between Tricia's behavior in Orphan: First Kill and Esther in Orphan . What better teacher for a psychopath than a narcissistic manipulator?

The first mistake she makes with the Albrights is that she dumps her talents on them immediately. Desperate to impress them and establish a place in the family, she forgets one crucial setback. She makes herself so perfect that it draws unwanted attention, particularly from Gunnar and Detective Donnan. Her obvious expertise also turns her into a show pony. Tricia exploits Leena's talents in order to show off. Anything to look good to her friends and neighbors. Even though Tricia never encourages such skills in Esther before she is murdered.

It then stands to reason that Leena would play her cards close to the chest in Round 2 with the Colemans. She does better to play piano and paint at a 9-year-old level to keep suspicions at bay. Kate Coleman only catches onto her because of the adult behaviors in Leena that slip out along the way.

Detective Donnan's investigation of her nearly blows her cover, which puts him on Leena's death list. She loves to kill but never cleans up after herself. Just look at the trail of bodies she leaves behind her before and at the asylum. Tricia isn't about to leave the detective's body around for anyone to find. She's better at covering her tracks than Leena. Together, they hide the body, after which Leena never leaves a body lying around again.

In Orphan , Sister Abigail comes sniffing around just like Detective Donnan, and Leena does what she does. She beats the nun to death with a hammer and enlists the littlest Coleman, Max, to help her hide the body. She covers her tracks independently, and it buys her time to unravel the Coleman family. That's not the only stalling tactic she uses.

Leena is a wonder manipulator in Orphan . When the Colemans take her to therapy, she passes with flying colors and projects the problems onto Kate. This is a tactic that Tricia teaches her while the Albrights begin family therapy. Manipulating the therapist is not a trait she had before, or she may not have been committed. She hones that ability when she arrives in America. Because of the wonderful Albright performance, Leena is able to move on to another family after the fire at her doctor's recommendation. The Colemans might never have had to suffer if not for Tricia Albright.

Leena nearly leaves the Albrights immediately after she arrives, but her longing for Allen compels her to stay. It's a decision she comes to regret because it gives Tricia time to discover and exploit her secrets. Like any narcissistic mother, the woman has no sense of boundaries. She rifles through Leena's belongings and finds the Bible (a book containing all of her secrets). This violation of privacy exposes Leena's identity and her origin. This is blackmail-worthy information leaving Leena vulnerable.

Tricia blackmails her into staying put. Leena is left feeling trapped and exploited. That's never a good place to be, even for a psychopath. So, she learns to never let that happen again. That Bible is the only clue to the institution out of which she slaughters her way. Kate's discovery would land her right back into a vulnerable situation. Not only does she guard that Bible like a hawk, but she also finds Kate's diary and exploits her secrets. The miscarriage, drinking, and near-fatal accident that leaves her youngest child deaf are all in that book.

It's a classic "get her before she gets me" mentality. Trust me when I say that level of betrayal and violation only needs to happen once. Leena doesn't stop at blackmail. In order to keep her identity a secret, she also resorts to public disgrace. Kate's credibility must be destroyed.

Image is everything. No one questions the wealthy and sharply dressed family. Leena has no money. She doesn't come from privilege. She comes from an asylum, and that's what the Albrights hang over her head. They call her crazy and throw her afflictions in her face so she would lack credibility. She's more direct in her attempts to seduce Allen Albright, but Tricia picks up on it immediately. So, she learns to be more subtle and patient with the man, all the while, destroying the credibility of the woman.

That's what Leena does in Orphan to Kate Coleman, pushing her buttons until she snaps and exploiting her weaknesses until Kate snaps. In a fit of uncontrollable rage, she slaps Leena in front of a hallway of medical health professionals, and they drug her into a coma. Her credibility is gone and so is her access to her family. She is unable to protect them.

It's kill or be killed with big brother Gunnar Albright. He kills his sister Esther over a petty sibling rivalry. When the child's look-alike comes along, he judges, bullies, and attempts to kill her too. Fortunately, she kills him first. Self-defense is new to her but killing is not. His arrogance and entitlement lead to his undoing, a brutal death he never sees coming.

She carries that confrontation into her next family with another contemptuous older brother. He also judges and bullies her. He even exhibits violent tendencies by shooting a bird in front of Leena. These parallels trigger the trauma of her time with the supremely selfish Albright family. This makes her violent against her new brother.

The difference between Tricia and Kate affects their victory over Leena. Kate and Gunnar's narcissism causes them to grossly underestimate their house guest. More importantly, Tricia claims to care about her family, but anyone can see that's a lie. All she cares about is covering her own ass. Kate, on the other hand, does care. She would do anything to save her family, which includes jumping through a skylight to save her youngest child.

What does Tricia do with her youngest child? She tosses away her body like garbage. Leena fails in her attack on the Coleman family because she underestimates Kate's capacity for love. She mistakenly looks at Kate and sees Tricia. She sees every mother figures she's ever known. Kate may be the first loving mother she encounters. That may be the biggest tragedy of all. Would Leena's mind and soul be spared if she had a family that cared? Instead, Leena dies never knowing love.