William Brent Bell – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: Do you remember watching the first Orphan movie earlier?

Vampire Bat: I do not remember like that. I remember back in centuries.

Vampire Owl: You are not supposed to go that long back with memories.

Vampire Bat: Well, Uncle Dracula goes back longer than that.

Vampire Owl: He can go back as long as the vampire elders can go infinitely.

Vampire Bat: You know the elders. They don’t count.

Vampire Owl: They have been further violent during these years.

Vampire Bat: It is quite natural, considering their loss of fangs.

Vampire Owl: The lost fangs can be recreated with the help of the witches.

Vampire Bat: I hope it is not left in the hands of Doctor Frankenstein.

[Gets a paneer masala dosa and three cups of elaichi tea].

What is the movie about? :: Leena Klammer (Isabelle Fuhrman), a thirty one year old woman with the appearance of a ten year old child has been locked in psychiatric hospital in Estonia for a long time, but has been planning an escape for a long time. She finds a way by hiding inside the car of Anna (Gwendolyn Collins), an art therapist, whom she kills after breaking into her house. She temporarily finds a new home in her place. She looks up for missing girls in the United States of America, and finds that she looks similar to a girl named Esther Albright. For her, it also seems to be an interesting home to live. This gives her a new idea, and she pretends to be the same American child who had gone missing a few years ago. She gets herself found in a children’s park by a police officer who has absolutely no doubts about her, as she has planned the whole thing really well. Allen Albright (Rossif Sutherland) and Tricia Albright (Julia Stiles) get the news that their disappeared daughter has been found in Eastern Europe, and couldn’t get any happier as they were sure that she was lost forever.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As Tricia brings her home, she begins to have doubts about her soon enough, as she has forgotten that their grandmother died, and has developed some painting skills which she never really came close to possessing. Detective Donnan (Hiro Kanagawa) and the child psychologist Dr Segar (Samantha Walkes) feel that there is surely something wrong about her, but they don’t really know what it is. She seems to be rather too different, and doesn’t act like a child at all times. She doesn’t seem to get along well with the brother Gunnar Albright (Matthew Finlan) either. Soon, it turns out that there are family secrets that are being hidden in the house. Leena keeps getting closer to her newly discovered father-figure, which upsets the others in the family. Soon, she will be facing her family which suspects her, but she has her plans to rise above those doubts. But how long can she go on playing this role which only seems to get more and more difficult for her? She would have to get rid of the detective soon enough, but is that an easy job to do? How can she achieve this without being deported back to the mental asylum back in Estonia?

The defence of Orphan: First Kill :: This movie is powered by that antagonist who continues to be a favourite among the horror lovers, and that stays as an advantage. The atmosphere here is interesting, and the setting provides an assurance that there will be some nice moments to remember. The early setting of the mental asylum is more than just interesting. We keep feeling that there could be something more coming up at all times in the first half, the big reveal only set things up well for a grand battle of women. The movie’s hesitation often has it lagging, but it does manage to make things better in the very next scene or so. The cast members do manage to overcome them all, and this selection of the leading performers comes as an advantage. The movie is also a reminder for us to not fall a prey to the cute ones, especially children who are not too far away from the Lord of the Flies situation of William Golding. Well, the cutest among them all might be the one diabolical evil creature which needs to be feared at all times.

The claws of flaw :: Orphan: First Kill doesn’t raise the level from the original movie at all. There were so many opportunities with this idea when going back, but that much is not taken here. This one has also come too late for anyone’s liking, as the gap between the original and this prequel is rather too much. The antagonist does seem to have a more artificial look in comparison to the looks in the first flick. Yet, there are also too many similarities with the first movie, and we also have the absence of surprises here, with twists not getting the required strength either. We know too much about the main character as we have watched the earlier film, and bringing a certain secret ingredient was a necessity. We could have also had some creepy sequences around here which could have managed to balance the situation, but such an attempt is also not made here. It is only with another prequel set almost completely in a mental asylum in Estonia that the bar can be raised now.

The performers of the soul :: Isabelle Fuhrman continues to make Esther an interesting character, a role which she had performed at a young age, and made it a thing of quality. Isabelle does have a challenge in here, as despite the experience that she may have earned through the years, she is still not of that same age anymore. In comparison to her other roles, her work as Esther or Leena is something that has her raising the bar each and every time. Julia Stiles makes another strong character here, and two main lady characters show their strength even further when they are standing against each other, even when not showing the hatred that much. Rossif Sutherland also has his moments here. Matthew Finlan comes out strong in the later stages of the film, and that too when less expected. Gwendolyn Collins makes an initial impression well, and it is sad that she had to disappear too early. Hiro Kanagawa also leaves a mark, and needed more time on screen.

How it finishes :: Orphan: First Kill cannot be compared to the original movie which set something up so well, and it was also something which felt much innovative at that time. The fans would have been expecting a film which would score better than this one. After all, Esther has become a horror icon like no other, and the earlier movie’s twist was something which people didn’t really except. But the prequel has been organized well, and we can see that at the end of the movie, things come together well to bring the possibilities of the next one on to the scene. This one does deserve to become a much longer franchise with a deeper idea about the origins of the main character given. A fine psychopath of the antagonist’s level can do magic for the genre. After all, movies like these serve as those the reminders that we cannot trust anyone, especially someone with the cute side on display – this is a mad world indeed, and has the worst in store for us.

Release date: 19th August 2022
Running time: 99 minutes
Directed by: William Brent Bell
Starring: Isabelle Fuhrman, Rossif Sutherland, Hiro Kanagawa, Matthew Finlan, Julia Stiles

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Vampire Owl :: All I see is a doll. There is nothing much scary about this one’s appearance either.

Vampire Bat :: We have always been taught and trained to believe that there is more than what eyes can see. What you are doing here is just passing judgment.

Vampire Owl :: I am not judgmental. The hypercritical ones are not my people, but yours.

Vampire Bat :: Still, you are judging this one too early.

Vampire Owl :: The critics have already judged it low.

Vampire Bat :: That is what they do, not us who live with these movies.

Vampire Owl :: I have liked Dead Silence’s Billy, The Conjuring’s Annabelle and Child’s Play’s Chucky. Unlike what you think about this, I am not really judgmental about dolls.

Vampire Bat :: Well, Chucky did put a knife on your neck to make you accept that.

Vampire Owl :: Yes, but I have accepted that dolls can be awesome, and that is the point which I intend to bring here.

Vampire Bat :: Whatever it is, just watch the movie.

[Gets three cups of tea with tapioca chips].

What is it about? :: Greta (Lauren Cohan) is caught in an abusive relationship with Cole (Ben Robson) at Montana. She hopes to escape by becoming a nanny for the Heelshire family based in the United Kingdom. After traveling to Great Britain and reaching the place, she introduced to Mrs. Heelshire (Diana Hardcastle) and the man who brings the grocery, Malcolm (Rupert Evans). Mr. Heelshire (Jim Norton) introduces her to their child, Brahms. But she is surprised to find out that the boy here is just a porcelain doll, treated by the family as if it is a living person. Mrs. Heelshire tells her that the boy had rejected many other nannies and they hope that he likes her. She also asks Greta to follow certain rules, as Brahms is like other children, and special care is needed for him.

So what happens next? :: Greta decides to ignore the rules and just spend her time there. She and Malcolm gets a lot interested in each other, and the doll remains neglected. But Greta finds out that there is something strange about the doll. She feels that it moves a little at times, and there are other strange occurences. On one occasion, she gets locked in the attic, and her clothes are also stolen while she is taking shower. She also feels that the doll is staring at her when she is talking to Malcolm, changing clothes or even while doing anything of personal nature. On another day, a sandwich is served at her door, and she also hears voices calling her name. She decides to find out more about the real child who is supposed to have died in a fire at the age of eight, years ago.

The defence of The Boy :: The idea here is working, and had a lot of possibilities towards horror. It does get working early with its central idea, and we get to the moments featuring the doll easily. The setting in the big old house actually helps a lot. There are lots of spooky moments in this movie, and the scene at the attic as well as the final twists worked very well in the end. How they have changed the supernatural idea works very well by the end of the movie too. The Boy does entertain, that is for sure – among the horror movies which released on one of those days around this one, there were not many of them as much entertaining as The Boy, which follows the much expected horror idea. As the movie follows the basic horror elements, there is sure to be some fun watching this movie for everyone. For people who don’t want movies like The Witch and It Follows as the different horror flicks, this would be the usual kind of replacement following the known path.

Claws of flaw :: It is rather strange that the movie doesn’t really use the elements in hand to the best strength. When there is a spooky doll around there, we expect that things get really scary and remain so throughout its run – but there are those weaker moments here and there. The doll could have been a lot bigger thing than it turned out to be. The movie also does remind one of two other movies, the Jocelin Donahue starrer The House of the Devil and Sarah Thompson starrer Babysitter Wanted. This one could have deviated further and should have come up with more innovative ideas. With so much mystery around, I am actually surprised that they have managed only this much – there was so much to be seen and so much more to be developed further. But our movie here manages to work even with all its inability to bring the best out of there.

Performers of the soul :: The performances of the cast here remains really good. Without doubt, Lauren Cohan as Greta comes up with the best of them all. Best known for her part as Maggie Greene in the television series, The Walking Dead, and being part of other series, here she plays the young lady with a troubled past in a lot believable manner, and so does she manage well with those horror sequences. I have to say that she makes a really good addition to the horror movies, and I hope that she will be there in more of such movies belonging to the genre. Her character actually undergoes changes throughout the movie, and she manages the same without any problem. Rupert Evans also makes a good addition in the flick. Jim Norton and Diana Hardcastle who play the old parents also leaves a mark here.

How it finishes :: Well, there has been some impressive dolls in horror movies; Chucky from Child’s Play series might be the most popular of them all, and Billy from Dead Silence has been one scary thing; Annabelle has gained popularity with The Conjuring, and one can never underestimate the strength of a doll when it comes to horror movies. This one here, the Brahms doll is no exception either. It has enough to stay in the minds of the viewers too. There will be something about The Boy that can catch your attention here – from the cast to the setting, and more than everything else, the doll. Unlike what the reviews have mostly said about this movie, The Boy has more strength than most of the other horror movies around here which have somehow managed better reviews.

Release date: 22nd January 2016
Running time: 97 minutes
Directed by: William Brent Bell
Starring: Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans, Jim Norton, Diana Hardcastle, Ben Robson, James Russell, Jett Klyne, Lily Pater