Case 39 (2009)

Although the film lacks true originality as it comes off in similarity to The Omen, The Bad Seed, or The Good Son, it has it's moments. It's genre is horror/suspense specific but it is really not all that scary. Renee Zellwegger's performance is well received as the compassionate social worker Emily who has much empathy for the abused kids. Her approach is unique and lays the foundation for her character development. Jodelle Ferland does a decent job as the unique, albeit mysterious and cliché child whom Emily takes in. The film is driven by the story of a child that appears normal and frail on the outside but the mystery lies within. There is violence drawn across the film some of which involves children but there lies the truth behind the story. It's a personable, social film for adults. I felt it had good direction and movement but lacked a creative spark. You will enjoy the film as a whole and the performances as well. Bradley Cooper makes his small but relevant role worthwhile. A solid 6/10

Well another movie that started out so promisingly then went rapidly down hill to a very un climatic ending.This started off WELL. I was really excited about watching the story unfold.Seemingly evil, sick deranged parents and poor child you could actually feel really bad for... Of course the twist comes very early. The sweet girl turns out to be... yes, evil. Oh yeah, and she has a crazy mother, no real history, was a sort of possessed half demon from birth.. actually scared and tormented the hell out of her parents and made them suffer till they went mad and tried to kill her then died.. (Orphan, The Ring, anyone?) Yes another story that's been done. And yes, again The lead "mother" role is scared and needs help from her male friend- who of course dies and leaves her desperate when the girl turns on her.This is a girl who knows what you are thinking and up to all the time.. ? This seems a fundamental flaw all the way through..how did this kid who knows and suspects all and doesn't sleep.. allow herself to be drugged and almost died in an oven, and then be locked inside an exploding house.. YET suddenly not only get out appear totally fine over the road? and then be killed by being being driven off a cliff- while scared because she can't sense what is happening or read your mind if you pretend you don't fear her.The whole ending was just so slap dash it actually annoyed me. There are so many ways it could have been as dramatic as the build up towards it. But no, rushed and really average. Oh let's go for a nice car ride after I have told you you are a psycho kid and I hate you.. look I'm going to kill you- oh there's the cliff.. right.Then.

This Renee Zellweger horror film isn't the greatest thing you'll ever see, although I don't really think it's deserving of the tidal wave of negative reviews it has received since its 2009 release. The movie starts out pretty well, with some mystery and it makes you question whether the little girl is being tormented by her parents or by an evil force, or if she is just evil incarnate herself. Jodelle plays the part of Lily well, innocent and sweet when she needs to be and threatening and scary when called for. Renee really pulled off a good performance here too, she really got the over stressed, well meaning and kind social worker down. And as the film progresses she really did a good job of portraying the terror and at her wits end persona. Bradley cooper turns in an alright performance, I mean to be honest it didn't require a lot of great effort, it was just kind of a whatever character. The writing is pretty standard for the horror genre, it's not like slasher movie bad but it's nothing to be bragging about. One complaint I do have with the film is the effects of the demon when it is revealed, looked stupid and cheesy, wish they would've done better with that, came off as cheap. 7/10 for Case 39.

Contains spoilers! I thoroughly enjoyed Case 39 due in large part to the fact that the setup was appealing and realistic, with the overworked, "bleeding-heart" social worker who decides to take a chance on a kid who seems to be in trouble. This realistic and reasonably well constructed backdrop is something almost all B-rated horror films miss out on, and this is where my relatively high rating (8/10) stems from. Really, most non-blockbuster horror films fail to set the scene in any kind of reasonable way. Case 39 does and for that reason alone I found it to be quite a bit better than a lot of horror films I've watched recently. In addition to that, though it is apparent from the get-go that the child will be the source of the horror that is about to ensure, the movie manages to build a good amount of tension and raise a few question marks, before anything begins to happen. There are some good scares, but nothing to make you jump out of your skin or leave you sleepless for nights, or as in my case, to stop you from going to your attic for weeks. Zellwegger does do a good job in being terrified and it's guaranteed that some of her terror will rub off on you too. (Although sometimes her trademark voice makes it difficult to not be reminded of Bridget Jones..)One failure of the movie is that some of the scares are a bit theatrical and overdone. A bit less could have been more terrifying. The resolution of the movie is predictable but I found it to be satisfying nonetheless.Solid horror movie with a bit more substance than most to draw you in and keep you interested throughout!