Orphan: First Kill has none of its predecessor’s originality or grace.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 11, 2024

Like the first flick, it manages to be both classy and trashy in about equal measure.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Oct 27, 2024

This movie has no reason to exist, but it works overtime to justify itself, becoming a worthwhile companion piece to the original that must be seen big, loud, and with an audible crowd (or with a group of friends at home on Paramount+).

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 22, 2024

Is this prequel necessary? Absolutely not, but it’s an enjoyable popcorn slasher horror with plenty of truly savage and bloodthirsty moments.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 9, 2024

Orphan: First Kill isn’t as gripping as the original film, but its self-aware tone helps make this prequel better than one might expect.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 4, 2024

Orphan: First Kill is entertaining, and even when it doesn’t compare to the original movie, it’s fun to watch what happens to this family.

| Sep 8, 2023

While watching Orphan: First Kill, you can't help but feel as if it's being strangled by its own reverence to the original movie. From the 2000s reminiscent cinematography that replicates the cold tones of the 2009 film, to the step-by-step script.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 18, 2023

Orphan: First Kill struggles to find it's footing at first, as a slow plot and poor dialogue make it seem a little drab. However, when the twist kicks in and our actors are allowed to truly take their characters on, it's incredibly entertaining.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 24, 2023

Orphan First Kill doesn’t hold a candle to Orphan. There is no way to say for sure, but there’s a good chance that even the filmmakers were aware of that. So, they didn’t try to match it.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 20, 2023

ORPHAN: FIRST KILL has aspects that feel clever and just on the edge of something, but it’s rather dull and forgettable.

| Apr 7, 2023

Credit the screenplay for staying a step ahead of us and not being too predictable; ding the director for not delivering a single memorable kill.

| Jan 31, 2023

Because of poor creative choices and dull direction, Orphan: First Kill is a misfire of a prequel that recycles the same tropes and masks it with a few surprising plot twists.

| Original Score: 3/10 | Nov 30, 2022

The new twist is glorious, utterly wrong-footing both its audience and Esther and the melodrama that plays out is positively Gothic in its unashamed high-camp absurdity.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 30, 2022

Orphan: First Kill falls into the same overworked template that claims so many horror prequels. It’s working to a conclusion that’s out in the wide open and it fails to do much more than remind you of something you already enjoyed.

| Original Score: 5.5/10 | Nov 2, 2022

The filmmakers go all out with forced perspective shots, child-size body doubles and gauzy surreality to bring the audience along for the ride.

| Oct 28, 2022

While Orphan: First Kill can’t match the original film’s stand-out twist (few films can), it’s certainly not for lack of trying.

| Oct 3, 2022

Its creators understood that the job demands clearing a high bar for crazy, which inspires a go-for-broke pulp energy that’s appealingly ragged.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 3, 2022

Its disparate opening, brusque storytelling, and bad technical decisions make for an unfavorable combination. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 5/10 | Sep 26, 2022

Aimlessly wanders around the same paths its predecessor laid out... [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 26, 2022

If you're looking for a tense and terrifying experience, you better go see “Barbarian”. But if you don't mind a film that's not interested in realism, and instead develops a silly yet fun story, "Orphan: First Kill" works. Full review in Spanish.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Sep 24, 2022