2009's surprisingly creepy horror film Orphan was a huge hit at the box office, and is now set to receive a prequel titled simply Esther. Movies about evil kids are a tried and true sub-genre of horror, with the most famous being The Exorcist, which featured Linda Blair as demon-possessed girl Regan MacNeil. The film to first firmly establish the killer kid trope in cinema was 1954's The Bad Seed, starring Patty McCormack as budding serial killer Rhoda Penmark.

Of course, what sets Orphan apart from that lot is its late game twist, which has become pretty common knowledge even for those who never saw it. Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman) isn't a child at all, and merely suffers from a medical condition that causes her to look like a kid. She's actually 33-years-old, and even murdered the prior family that adopted her, after having her sexual advances rebuffed by the father/husband. It's quite the shocking turn of events, and casts the entire film that preceded it in a new, even more unsettling light.

Orphan earned mixed reviews from critics, but horror fans really took to it, especially how sleazy and uncomfortable the story was willing to get at a times, a rarity for modern Hollywood horror. The film was a box office smash, almost quadrupling its $20 million budget in theaters. Now, Orphan's story will continue with a prequel, according to THR.

Orphan Movie Prequel Esther In The Works From The Boy Director


The Orphan prequel entitled Esther will be directed by William Brent Bell, helmer of prior horror films like The Boy and The Devil Inside. Bell's latest effort, Brahms: The Boy 2 starring Katie Holmes, hits theaters this weekend. Bell takes over the Orphan property from original director Jaume Collet-Serra, who's since moved on to directing Disney and DC blockbusters starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. David Coggeshall, a former writer for Scream: The TV Series, has penned the Esther script.

Esther's story will of course focus on the titular character - real name Lena Klammer - and focus on how she managed to escape from a Russian mental hospital and manipulate her way to America by pretending to be a wealthy family's long-missing daughter. At this early stage, casting has yet to take place, and it will be interesting to see who Bell entrusts with taking over the Esther role from Fuhrman, who earned raves for her work in the original Orphan movie. Casting someone just as talented will be essential to Esther's success, especially now that the same shocking twist can't be pulled off again.