This article discusses “Where was the Paramount+ film Orphan: First Kill filmed” and does not contain spoilers.
Read the review of the Orphan: First Kill.
Director William Brent Bell (The Devil Inside) and writer David Coggeshall (The Haunting in Connecticut 2) set the prequel based on the characters by writer Alex Mace, who authored the story for the original cult classic, Orphan. In that film, our beloved Esther infiltrated the home of Kate and John, adopting a 12-year-old child. Sounds sweet, right? Well, not exactly. Esther is a 35-year-old sociopath with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, a gland disorder that causes her to look like a child, but she is a grown woman. Oh, and she is a sociopath.
In the prequel, we have Esther in an Estonian psychiatric hospital. Except, we find out her real name — Leena Klamme. She escapes, hides in a new employee’s car, and soon finds a picture of a missing child in America that she could pass for. Her name is Esther Albright. The family takes her in, and while the mother, Tricia (The Lake‘s Julia Stiles), and brother, Gunner (Matthew Finlan), are skeptical of her, the father, Allen (Rossif Sutherland), is happier that his baby girl is back home.
Where was Orphan: First Kill filmed – a breakdown of locations
Orphan: First Kill was exclusively filmed in Winnipeg, Canada, the capital of the Canadian province of Manitoba. The prequel was announced in development in February 2020, right before the pandemic shutdown. By November 2020, the title was set as Orphan: First Kill, Julia Stiles, and Rossif Sutherland joined the cast, and filming started in the Gateway to the West. When filming was completed, Paramount acquired the rights to the film and set it to stream on their streaming channel on August 19th, 2022. The film will also have a limited theatrical release, starting the Thursday before.
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
The film was exclusively filmed in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Filming started in November 2020 and wrapped on December 11th, 2020. So, this was a quick shoot. And a cold one! The average temperature of Winnipeg in November is a high of 32 and a low of 16 degrees. December is even chillier, with an average high of 17 and a low of 2 degrees. However, this city is a prevalent location for Hollywood films, such as The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Capote, K-19: The Windowmaker, The Lookout, and most recently, the 2021 action-comedy Nobody.
Currently, research is limited on exact locations. However, after some research, here are locations with some educated guesses.
Gilchrist House (1015 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg).
After some research and finding out, they filmed the Albright mansion scenes in a home located in the affluent community of Wellington Crescent. Architect Arthur Edward Cubbidge designed the house, which was built in 1932. If you watch the film’s final scene where the house is on fire and compare that with the home by clicking these words, it’s unmistakable. However, you may be disappointed if you want to see the home. It was torn down between July and August 2022.
Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport
Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport is a Canada-designated airport located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is reportedly the seventh busiest trafficked airport in Canada, seeing 4 million passengers (about twice the population of New Mexico) a year. You see the airport when Julia Stiles’s character flies back and lands home with Esther.
