ORPHAN - FIRST KILL
Cert 15
98 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong violence, language, threat
Good grief, this is weird. Thirteen years after the original Orphan movie comes a second - with its star still looking like a child.
Isabelle Fuhrman's Leena has a syndrome which means that even though she could be taken for a 12-year-old she is actually 31.
Therefore, camera angles, stand-ins and high heels are worn by Fuhrman's co-stars to make this odd set-up seem real.
It is necessary because Orphan First Kill is a prequel to the original movie so, obviously, its lead character cannot be any older.
William Brent Bell's film alights upon Leena when she is a permanent resident of a mental hospital in Estonia.
On the face of it she appears to be on her road to rehabilitation but pretty soon it is obvious that this is a woman who has a deeply malevolent streak.
And she is just waiting for the moment to drop the facade.
When she does, she manages to escape the hospital and later convinces the authorities that she is Esther, the kidnapped daughter of a wealthy American family.
Sure, she looks like the girl but speaks English with a thick Russian accent and knows very little about Esther's background.
Nevertheless, despite initial scepticism, she is accepted into the family home as if she is one of their own.
Orphan - First Kill is a strange thriller - not least because of the aforementioned age issue.
But there is also the curious reaction of Esther's 'mother' (Julia Styles), 'father' (Rossif Sutherland), and 'brother' (Matthew Finlan) to her return.
Fuhrman is genuinely creepy in the title role but Styles is also worth a shout-out as the mother who may not be quite as benevolent as she seems.
On several levels Orphan - First Kill is daft but I have to confess that I was enthralled, especially by its conclusion. I shall reveal no more for fear of spoiling it.
Reasons to watch: Strange thriller
Reasons to avoid: Its premise is so daft
Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7/10
Did you know? Julia Styles had to wear seven-inch heels to ensure it appears that she is an adult and Isabelle Fuhrman in a child.
The final word. Isabelle Fuhrman: "Brent (Bell) really championed for me to be in the movie which I appreciated because it was a really big up-in-the-air question as to whether or not they would be able to make me look like a kid and how this would work."
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