Review: Isabelle Fuhrman Is Back and Bigger Than Ever In The Camp Blast Of "Orphan: First Kill"

by Jason Adams

Like how The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was really about Vietnam, they say horror movies reflect the big anxieties of their times. And the Orphan franchise -- which I can giddily now call a "franchise" thanks to the gleefully ridiculous sequel Orphan: First Kill hitting Paramount+ this weekend -- is like a dollop of arsenic foamed across the surface of our collective pumpkin-spice latte fetish. In other words, it's a poison dart tossed straight at Big Mommy Blog to puncture the heart of the Social Media Wellness Cult. The diabolical Esther (played to utter perfection by Isabelle Fuhrman again) is a sweet-faced and ribbon-laced Trojan Horse sneaked onto your curated feed and set to blow up your pretty pictures from the inside out. She's Bo Burnham's "White Woman's Instagram" song plucked by ice pick across harp string.

But first, let's step back. (And yes this review will spoil the big surprise of the original film -- it's been thirteen years after all.) The first Orphan came out in 2009 and into the home of Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard...

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Great Moments in Horror Actressing

by Jason Adams

Howdy folks and say howdy-do to my brand new series here at TFE, "Great Moments in Horror Actressing". I'll be smashing together my favorite things (horror movies) with your favorite things (actresses). We'll focus in on great women giving the scary movies that little oomph of something extra. I'm just going to be lasering in on little moments, scenes, flourishes that I find especially special -- the pieces that make the big scary whole all the sweeter. Or sourer, as the case will probably more often be, given the genre. 

First up, Vera Farmiga in Orphan (2009). Jaume Collet-Serra's horror film about an orphan (Isabelle Furhman) just looking for a home, no matter the cost, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this week. It's a truly astounding box of shocks that's managed to retain its ability to jaw-drop a full decade later. But for all its third act reveals that I still can't believe they got away with, and the titular mind-blowing performance, the film packs such a visceral punch as its bottom drops out because of the sound emotional foundation Vera Farmiga set up in its opening scenes...

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