How did she get her first kill? Orphan: First Kill, a prequel to the iconic 2009 horror film, is officially in development.
The first Orphan film centered around (spoiler alert) a family who adopts an enigmatic young girl from Russia named Esther (played by Isabelle Fuhrman). From the start, something seemed off with Esther. She had a dark side hidden behind the act of a sweet little girl. The family soon found out that Esther was actually a 33-year-old mentally ill woman named Leena with a history of violence against her former families and caretakers.
Now, it looks like we are getting a look at Leena’s backstory in the upcoming prequel Orphan: First Kill. While there is little in terms of plot details, we do know that the prequel will explore an earlier family of Leena where she obtains the titular “First Kill.”
There are a number of questions that the prequel should answer from the first film. While we might see the first murder committed by Leena, what made her act this way in the first place? What was her life like before? How many families has she cycled through? Answering these questions and potentially more could allow us to finally get the big picture behind that mysterious orphan Esther/Leena.
How Long Has Esther/Leena Led a Double Life?
The first film made abundantly clear that there was something “off” about Esther. She had almost no empathy for her family and attempted to seduce patriarch John (Peter Sarsgaard). When confronted about what she did, Esther would revert back to her facade of an innocent 9-year-old girl. We knew something was clearly off with Esther long before the film revealed her true nature. What audiences likely did not see coming was that 9-year-old Esther was, in reality, 33-year-old Leena.
This reveal raises many more questions than it answers. Has Leena simply been masquerading as a child all her life? How many families has she deceived? We know from the first film that Leena has murdered at least seven people, and the prequel will explore her first kill, but there is very likely much more to the story.
What Made Esther/Leena This Way?
Simply put, what happened in Leena’s life to make her the way she is? Was she born with these murderous tendencies, or did something in her life trigger them? Clearly, we can endlessly speculate about what Leena’s true nature is. On the one hand, it would be good for the film to spell out what made her this way. Perhaps that could allow us to find some empathy if she has faced trauma. On the other hand, intentionally leaving the reasons ambiguous could also be an effective choice.
Some people are simply evil for evil’s sake. There is no reason for what they do. Taking this path with Leena could create an even more powerful antagonist, one who creates chaos just for the sake of chaos. She has no reason for what she does, which makes it all the more terrifying.
Whichever way the filmmakers choose to go, her backstory should be established. Something happened to trigger her behavior, or instead, she was just wired that way. Either possibility will give the audience some answers and a method to her madness. They could either find some empathy or fear her even more, depending on the route taken.
Her Previous Families
The Coleman family quickly learned that “Esther” was not who she said she was. We know that the prequel will touch on an earlier family terrorized by Leena, where she impersonated their missing daughter Esther. While this is likely the origin of her fake moniker, there is still the potential for many gaps between this earlier family and the Colemans. We don’t know for sure if this is the first family visited by Leena, and we don’t know how many came between them and the Colemans yet.
Esther never truly suffered from her actions in the first film, at least until the end and her (spoiler alert) death at the hands of matriarch Kate (Vera Farmiga). The ones who suffered the most were her adopted families and those unlucky enough to cross her. In fact, Leena’s victims could actually tell us more about the titular Orphan than Leena herself.
While staying with the Colemans, only Kate is able to see through Leena’s act. John does not and actually turns on Kate when she tries to rid the family of Leena. From this and her seduction of John, Leena clearly focuses her manipulation on the male members of her families. The synopsis of the prequel tells us that the earlier family, Katie and Richard Mauerova, will follow a similar path. From what we know here, we can gather that Leena’s ultimate goals involve replacing the family matriarch somehow.
While the Colemans and Mauerovas are two case studies, it is very likely that Leena has at least attempted something like this with other families. Touching on this in the prequel could give us another angle into the twisted backstory of this very "off" Orphan.