Orphan: First Kill (movie 2022) Forget all you know about age...all over again

​Evil kids are such a good genre fodder. The juxtaposition of presumed innocence and the dark side is perfect playing field. Many directors, authors, creators of all things scary go there. With different results. Sometimes, really succeeding.
Orphan, the original, came out all the way back in 2009. And it was pretty freaking awesome. With solid cast of real actors and one creepy-ass kid and a killer twist.
Now, well over a decade later, because we live in a culture that can’t leave anything well enough alone, there’s a sequel which is technically a prequel using…get this…the same actress.
Now Tinseltown has long been playing fast and loose with casting kids. In fact, if you only went by what kids look like TV, you’d be shocked encountering one and learning their age in real life. Every time.
For ages now, there’s bene people in their 20s playing teenagers, but with younger kids, the casting is usually closer (maybe a few years instead of a decadeplus apart), i.e. Stranger Things. Which is to say in the original Orphan, Isabelle Fuhrman was likely somewhat older than the nine-year-old Esther. But in the second movie she is well into her 20s. So it looks…what’s the polite word? Incongruous?
I mean, yes, she’s somewhat young looking, and yes, the director uses all sorts of practical effects from makeup to a kid stunt and trick shooting messing with viewer’s perspective, but you CAN TELL. You really can tell.
Which is to say not only do we go into this movie already knowing one of the most awesome plot twist in the last two decades of scary movies, but we are also being sold on a cheap trick that really doesn’t quite work.
To the movie’s credit, it gives you a new twist. And a really fun one at that, once again turning the audience’s perception of the perfect nuclear family on its tail.
And overall, it is fun, a fun quick entertaining movie. That would work so well if it was its own thing. But as a sequel/prequel it leaves a lot to be desired from a logistics perspective. Granted, movie watching presupposes a certain suspension of disbelief, but you can only push it so far.
The real Esther might be an adult woman trapped in a child’s body, but the actress playing her isn’t. No movie trickery can convince you of that.
Which brings us to the next question? Why didn’t they just cast a lookalike? Why did they have to try to be so cute and clever with a bizarre and impractical concept of using the original?
Yes, she’s a good actress (who has apparently worked steady since…who knew) but one can only do so much against the restrictions of age even in the place (the silver screen) that has long defies such limitations.  Unless you’re the real Esther…imaginary as she is.
Because audiences tend to be less than discriminating and often go with entertainment value over all other considerations, the movie actually did nicely enough at the box office to warrant a sequel. Watch…they’ll do it too. Who knows how old Fuhrman will be by then, but apparently that doesn’t matter, so…
The crazy thing is that this movie is cowritten by the creator of the original, who also apparently thought it was a good idea. Well, it’s probably easier than coming up with an all original one.
There you go, now you know. Turn off your brain and come along for the ride.