Released: 5th March
Cert: 16
With just having loved ‘The Crazies’, I was very much in an open state of mind about horror movies. When I was given the chance to go see ‘Case 39’ I approached with the hope that it would be a nice fulfillment of scares. I had seen the trailer and not been so impressed, not to mention that I really don’t like Renee Zellweger all that much. Does the feature itself leave a good impression?
‘Case 39’ follows Emily (Renee Zellweger), a social worker who specializes in aiding families in which abuse is an affecting factor. When Emily is assigned her 39th case (get it?) she discovers the unfortunate story of Lily Sullivan (Jodelle Ferland). Lily is showing side-effects of strong child abuse and after a visit to the family; Emily has no doubts that something is seriously wrong here. When the situation becomes violent, Lily is taken away from her parents, and finds great comfort in a relationship with Emily. To prevent Lily from being dumped in foster care, Emily offers to look after her until a suitable home is found. But Emily is going to learn that looking after a girl like Lily is no cakewalk.
I will spare you any further details to avoid spoilers.
One big happy family
A film like this, which plays on the dynamics of children and relationships, demands a lot from the cast. Zellweger and Ferland really make the most of their roles here, with Ferland really stealing the show. Support roles from Bradley Cooper and Ian McShane are a welcome addition, with the latter becoming the unofficial hero of the movie.
From the offset, the movie does its best to build atmosphere. The film is no technical slouch; lighting, camera movement and sound all work effectively to accommodate some very scary moments.
It’s not without its flaws however. Certain elements feel very convenient for the sake of plot progression and some of the characters don’t do much to cement their personality onto the screen. The story arc feels increasingly more unoriginal, and by the time you reach the underwhelming end, you may feel slightly cheated.
Ever since ‘The Omen’, it has become a standard in the industry to play on the idea of childhood innocence in horror. The questions of “could you kill an evil child?” will always grip an audience. This film takes a slightly more unique approach to the subject matter and adds some great personality, complimented by sterling production values. This movie undeniably provides some great and memorable moments, brilliant performances and some heavy jump scares and is easy to recommend to fans of the horror genre.
7.5 Solid Horror
