Mikes Film Talk

The 2009 horror film Case 39 is all about not judging a book by its cover. Sugar and spice and everything nice this is not. A little girl isn’t and she is darn scary to boot.

Directed by Christian Alvart (he also directed Pandorum) Case 39 is a brilliant little horror/thriller. It stars Renée Zellweger , Ian McShane, and Jodelle Ferland and Bradley Cooper. Rather interestingly even though the film was actually finished in 2007. It did not get an American release until 2010.

Case 39 Story

Social worker Emily Jenkins (Zellweger) is overworked and tired.  She is assigned case 39. It deals with an innocent  ten year old girl, Lily Sullivan (Ferland) who is being abused by her parents. This abuse is confirmed when Lily’s parents put her in the oven to burn her to death. Emily asks her friend Detective Mike Barron (McShane) to help her. Mike and Emily rescue Lily. Her parents are put in a mental institution.

Emily takes Lily home to look after her until a foster family can be found. Once Lily moves in, however, strange things begin to happen. Another case of Emily’s, a boy named Diego, kills both his parents.

Barron tells Emily that the boy received a phone call just before he killed them. Emily suspects that Lily is somehow involved. She arranges for best friend, psychiatrist Douglas Ames to evaluate Lily. During the evaluation Lily soon gains the upper hand and starts evaluating Ames, finding out what his fears are. Later in the evening Ames gets a phone call and dies horribly.

Lily starts acting very strange. Her demeanor is that of an adult. As she begins to take over Emily and ultimately scaring her quite badly. Emily decides to talk to Lily’s parents. The body count rises as Emily comes to the realization that Lily is not an abused child. She clearly is not at all innocent.

It Works

A budget of $27 million and a box office of $28 million means the film makes its production costs back. I am a little puzzled as to why the film fared so poorly. Alvart does a cracking job with the film. The cinematography was sharp and well lit. The actors all gave top notch performances. Ian McShane, who has turned into character actor extraordinaire was very good. Bradley Cooper, in a part that was little more than a cameo, came across brilliantly as the doomed psychiatrist. Jodelle Ferland did what she does best, be creepy. Her bona fides include Kingdom Hospital (TV) Silent Hill and recently The Cabin in the Woods.

Of course Ms Zellweger gave a more than credible performance as the capable but overworked social worker. She makes the transition from strong and caring to terrified and confused with no problem. I was a bit concerned here. I’ll admit, big name ‘stars’ do not generally do horror films. If they do, unless they are Gregory Peck, they look a little out of place. My only complaint was that I kept thinking of her as Bridget Jones.

Poor Reception

I am slightly amazed that the film did not do better when it was released. We saw it via a rental and loved it. After we watched it we bought it. I realize that a lot of audiences don’t like films that deal with violence to children. Honestly that is the only reason I can think of for the film to fare so badly.

I could not take my eyes off the screen while watching Case 39. The identity of the “big bad” was a mystery until the film told me. The body count was not huge, but the casualties were well done and memorable. This film is a cautionary tale. Anyone who is thinking of adoption or becoming a foster parent may want to give this film a miss.

It could put you right off.

The Verdict

Case 39 is a solid 5 stars. It delivers. The film is streaming on Paramount + right now.

The Trailer