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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Tribeca 2021: "The Novice" proves Isabelle Fuhrman to be anything but

by Jason Adams

You will most assuredly think of the crackling and dangerous worlds of Darren Aronofsky while watching The Novice, Lauren Hadaway's splintering character study by way of electrifying sports drama which finally gives Isabelle Fuhrman (so captivating in 2009's trash-thriller Orphan), a leading role to sink her now adult teeth into. The film, which just premiered at Tribeca and won several awards (including a deserved Best Actress for Fuhrman), is Black Swan sluicing the water, The Wrestler via regatta, Pi by port. It's a mad rashy rush to the finish line, red knuckled and raw with tension, and Fuhrman delivers a bloody true star-turn.

She plays Alex Dall, a college freshman who joins the crew team almost on a lark, and becomes single-mindedly obsessed with making it to the top boat on the varsity team, no matter the cost to her body and mind...

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