The first Orphan back in 2009 still holds one of the best twists in cinema, revealing that the 9-year-old girl Esther, who was played by the 12-year-old actress Isabelle Fuhrman, is actually a 33-year-old named Leena Klammer who escaped from an institute in Estonia. Following director William Brent Bell's explanation as to how they brought the now-23-year-old actress in the lead role for the upcoming prequel Orphan: First Kill, today co-star Julia Stiles did a new interview with Collider that teases the new film will have an equal intriguing twist while praising Fuhrman in the lead role:
"I do not watch horror movies and when I was sent the script for it I was like, ‘I don’t know. I’m not into that genre.’ And I was also really worried about going back to work after COVID. And the script was so dang good, I couldn’t put it down and I was so surprised by the twist that I’m not gonna give away that I think you’ll like it.
It’s incredibly psychological. I’m not really interested in blood and gore. I find it gross, but I don’t find it really scary. What I find scary is the stuff that happens up here. And Isabelle Fuhrman’s character, Esther - although she has multiple names, Leena, I don’t know - it’s just such a fascinating - especially now because she’s a grown-up. She’s 23 now playing the same part. It’s just such a fascinating sociopathic character, along the lines of why Norman Bates was so interesting to watch."
That's a pretty bold comparison. Hopefully, the film lives up to it. Orphan: First Kill has no official release date yet. Stay tuned!
Today I learned that Julia Stiles is still alive.