20 Horror Movies Everyone Remembers For Just One Scene

Here are two movies, both starring the same unforgettable villain, Leena Klammer/Esther Albright, a serial killer dwarf masquerading as a little girl who's played to absolute perfection by Isabelle Fuhrmann. And, in both cases, the main thing they are remembered for is the key plot twist. 

2009's Orphan reveals Esther's jaw-dropping secret near the end, while 2022's Orphan: First Kill - which is a prequel - drops a banger of a mid-film twist. Leena is now impersonating a missing child, but halfway through, it turns out that her adoptive mother, Tricia (Julia Stiles), is a ruthless killer herself who knows perfectly well that Leena isn't Esther, as her son accidentally killed the real Esther years earlier and she covered it up. This cleverly levels Orphan: First Kill up into a battle of wits between Leena and Tricia, who's almost as dangerous as Esther. 

Great plot twists are often the most remembered parts of their stories, so it's not entirely surprising both Orphan films have been so overshadowed by their rug-pulls. Having said this, it's a bit unfortunate in the case of the first one, as that is a very good horror picture all around and there's more to it than just its climactic reveal.

As for the second one, though? Yeah, in that case, the twist was definitely the one truly great thing in a strictly OK movie, and it was that reveal that probably stopped a lot of people from losing interest.