Spoilers! Esther is back in 'Orphan: First Kill.' But she isn't the only sociopath.

Spoiler alert! This story discusses important plot points of "Orphan: First Kill," so beware if you haven’t seen it yet. 

There's something wrong with Esther. And now, 13 years later, we're finally seeing what exactly that is.

The new prequel "Orphan: First Kill" (in theaters now, on demand platforms and streaming on Paramount+) tells the origin story of the middle-aged serial killer who masquerades as a sweet little girl. This time, it's the wealthy, suburban Albright family who witnesses Esther's wrath before dying in a fatal house fire. 

In true nostalgic fashion, Isabelle Fuhrman, who was 12 when she starred in 2009's original "Orphan" film, reprises her role. The actress is now 25, but nonetheless was looking forward to a good challenge.

"I loved the character of Esther, and I knew how many people loved her story," Fuhrman tells USA TODAY. After having read the "fresh and different" script, she couldn't resist. "I was like, 'Dude this would be so stupid to not want to do. It would be great.' "

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"First Kill," which is less a horror movie and more a psychological thriller, opens with Leena (who has not yet adopted her identity as Esther) escaping Estonia's high-security insane asylum and manipulating her way into America. There, she assumes the identity of a 10-year-old girl who went missing four years prior to infiltrate the home of a wealthy, snobbish matriarch, Tricia (Julia Stiles), her despondent husband Allen (Rossif Sutherland) and skeptical son Gunnar (Matthew Finlan).

For fans craving a refreshing stroll down memory lane, key elements of Esther's mysterious backstory finally unravel – including the origins of her creepy UV blacklight paintings and her penchant for 19th-century clothing. But Esther's hopes for an easy transition are quickly dashed when she realizes she isn't the most dangerous person in the house.

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The movie magic behind Isabelle Fuhrman's age-defying transformation

Filming during the pandemic was a major challenge for the highly anticipated prequel. But an even bigger one was transforming a full-grown Fuhrman back into the child-size, homicidal adoptee.

Director William Brent Bell ("The Boy," "The Devil Inside") didn't want to rely heavily on CGI or special effects, which were either "very expensive or not successful" – especially not for the entire duration of a 90-minute film.

Instead, he opted for more demanding, yet worthwhile, techniques. With the help of contact lenses to enlarge her pupils and forced perspectives, Fuhrman effortlessly defies age and for the most part successfully transforms back into Esther.

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"We used a little bit of every trick in the book," Bell says. "The way we make a beautiful actress even that much more beautiful in a movie is how we use the lights and where we put the camera and maybe we would give her a special lens. So instead of trying to make (Fuhrman) look beautiful, we were actually trying to make her look younger, but it was the same kind of techniques."

Fuhrman recalls running around in a constant squat while Stiles sported Gene Simmons-like platform boots to emulate a reasonable parent-child height difference.

"Obviously, I'm grown up," Fuhrman says. "I knew I looked like Esther, because it's not like my face changed much. ... But there was so much comedy to it when we were filming that I actually think translated into what I love about the movie."

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Even beyond digital effects and body doubles, Stiles was "floored" by her co-star's ability to draw on Esther's childlike aura.

"Her performance was astonishing," Stiles says. "I watched the final edit of the film and I was really amazed at how much she looks like a child. The whole movie hinges on that: She's able to trick everyone."

That big 'Orphan: First Kill' plot twist and how it turns Esther into the hero

Reminiscent of the film's predecessor, "First Kill" misleads us into believing it's a nostalgic rehashing of the original. Tricia and Allen, at first, resemble the naivety and oblivion of Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard as parents.

That is, until Tricia drops her façade as a picture-perfect wife and mother: It turns out she knows she's living with an imposter (the real Esther was killed by Gunnar and Tricia covered it up) – and is willing to continue doing so if it means upholding her reputation.

"The fun part of the film is watching these two liars push each other and test each other," Stiles says. "They're allies, because they both want to keep up a lie, but then they're also trying to push the other one off the cliff, so to speak."

Esther, still terrifying in her own way, seems more broken than bad. In stark contrast to the original movie, she's pitiable and vulnerable. Tricia's taunting and verbal abuse drives Esther on a mission for vengeance, and viewers come to see where Esther inherited her calculating manipulation.

"You become sort of invested in Esther's success slightly, which I really enjoyed," says Fuhrman.

"The audience could find a way to love her and not just because they love what she does, but for the fact that she does get scared, that she is a human being, that she's still terrible but there's some reason behind why she is who she is."

Bell knows the prequel isn't what "Orphan" fans were expecting. It's different, and not in a bad way, in the sense that it's more so a "love letter" to the fan-favorite villain, who is arguably a survivor of dire circumstances – and a sociopathic adoptive mother.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Orphan: First Kill' spoilers: Esther returns, but with a plot twist