Orphan: First Kill has just been released in theaters and is available for streaming on Paramount+, ing the pantheon of high-profile prequels to cult horror movies. So far, reviews for the prequel are faring better than the original - and Isabelle Fuhrman again nailing the leading role - as it explores more of Esther's backstory and her history with troubled families.
Apart from prequels, movie recommendations for people who liked Orphan: First Kill can include some of the best family-themed horror movies in recent times, including the likes of The Babadook. Given Esther's young age in the movie, sinister tales focusing on young devilish kids also make for some must-watch options.
Ouija: Origin Of Evil (2016)
Stream On Netflix
The first Ouija: Origin of Evil.
Dealing with a single woman and her two daughters' haunting interactions with the titular board, the 2016 movie is definitely up in the higher leagues of recent horror movie prequels. As Orphan: First Kill itself promises to be a prequel to add more context to the original, Origin of Evil provides more context and elevates its preceding chapter.
Run (2020)
Stream On Hulu
As a girl suffering from a life-threatening disease spends her days in a wheelchair, she comes upon some dark and unexpected secrets of her regressive mother. With Sarah Paulson and Kiera Allen's impeccable on-screen chemistry, the movie succeeds as an intense family-centric thriller.
Because of the mother-daughter dynamics at the crux of the story, Run will make for an interesting watch for fans of Orphan: First Kill, which focuses on the complicated relationship between Esther and her overprotective mother. Though the roles are reversed, both films brilliantly unlock the menaces' master plan and dive deep into their history, bringing viewers on the edge of their seats as the plots twist and secrets unfold.
Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
Stream On Paramount Plus
The first Paranormal Activity 2 amps up the scares by following up on the events that took place two months before the first movie.
As a prequel, Paranormal Activity 2 is a good case study and must be watched by those who enjoyed a prequel like Orphan: First Kill. The writing aside, the technical elements like the wide-angle shots, the haunting silences, and the unexpected jump scares are arguably improved.
Hereditary (2018)
Stream On Showtime Amazon Channel
When it comes to horror movies about troubled families, Hereditary makes for an easy recommendation. The Toni Collette-starrer deals with a family's eventual breakdown after the paranormal events triggered by a personal tragedy.
Effectively subverting mainstream horror tropes, the A24 horror movie delivers not just some genuinely unsettling moments of violence but even the lead actors' disturbed facial expressions and emotional outbursts. While most of the initial family horror is controlled and ominous in Orphan: First Kill, Hereditary will be an amusing contrast with no dearth of moments rooted in some realistic melodrama.
Sinister (2012)
Stream On Peacock
Ethan Hawke stars in this Scott Derrickson directorial venture that blends supernatural horror with some good old-found footage content. The premise deals with a writer moving into a new home, where he chances upon a box of old tapes that reveal a sinister pattern of mass killings and much more.
Considered to be the Sinister is frighteningly great in its own twisted ways. While Orphan: First Kill deals with the titular character ruining her own family, Sinister explores other notions of a family being broken down due to homicidal and paranormal occurrences.
The Boy (2015)
Stream On Netflix
A nanny gets confused when the boy she is assigned to take care of actually appears as a life-sized doll. Named Brahms, the chillingly creepy doll seems to come alive with his own share of secrets.
Before Orphan: First Kill, director William Brent Bell received popularity for The Boy (and eventually its prequel Brahms: The Boy II). If the new Orphan movie arouses curiosity about Bell's previous work, then The Boy would be a good place to start. The movie shows Bell's skills at establishing hauntingly impactful young characters, centering on paranormal happenings around them without relying on too much exposition.
The Babadook (2014)
Stream On Kanopy
Even though the titular creature is the obvious threat in one of The Babadook also boasts some unsettling scenes when it comes to the tense interactions between the central characters, a mentally-struggling mother and her hyperactive son.
In some ways, the central relationship indirectly sets a precedent for future horrors. Even in Orphan: First Kill, the relationship between Isabelle Fuhrman's lead character and Julia Stiles (who plays her overprotective mother) adds to the tense and ominous nature of the initial narrative.
The Hole In The Ground (2019)
Stream On Showtime Amazon Channel
When a woman leaves her husband and shifts to a shady town with her son, she is informed about a terrifying secret - the boy might not even be her son!
The Hole In The Ground tests the limits of psychological horror with its central mystery, and young James Quinn Markey gets to play a terrifying horror movie kid. Markey's screen presence and creepy naivety are comparable to Isabelle Fuhrman's performance in Orphan: First Kill.
Dominion: Prequel To The Exorcist (2005)
Stream On Peacock
An alternate version to the infamous prequel Exorcist: The Beginning, Paul Schrader's Dominion is not one of his finest movies as a director, but there is still something about it that makes it an efficient prequel for some.
Unlike Orphan: First Kill which focuses on the titular character's origins, Dominion strays away from the young girl Regan McNeill and, instead, focuses on Father Merrin's first encounters with the demon that possessed her. It makes for an interesting prequel in which the original's themes of faith and possession are explored in some unexplored settings.
Little Evil (2017)
Stream On Netflix
Classic horror movies, particularly The Exorcist, established their child actors as some of the creepiest kids in the horror genre. Little Evil is a satirical horror comedy, playing on the tropes of these movies as a possessed boy makes life a living hell for his new stepfather.
With enough nods to the classics and moments of deadpan humor, Little Evil must be watched for even irers of modern horrors that focus on young antagonists such as Esther in Orphan: First Kill.
