Movie Review: Case 39

Case 39 would normally fall somewhere below The Social Network and Let Me In on a list of anticipated movies this week-end. Mostly because it was made four years ago and just now finding its way into theaters in the states. However, it has been out in Europe for some time now, and its popularity here was just enough to get it some play, so… Is this a movie to watch?

It has the star power. Rene Zellweger and Bradley Cooper are two of the most popular actors these days. It also has the season—this is the time for scares. Aside from that, though, it has very little to offer. It is not scary and it is not particularly well written. For creepy children/pregnancy movies you could do better with just about any entry in the genre.

It does remind us that there is something creepy about kids, though. Sure a lot of people love them and most people like their own at the very least, but kids—especially when left to their own devices—can really make a great argument for the doctrine of total depravity.

Case 39 is really pretty rudimentary; your typical evil kid scenario. Sure there is a half-hearted attempt to make you think that perhaps the evil forces are after this kid, but the audience knows what is going on from the beginning. The big pay-off for the film comes when the creature reveals its true intentions. It is really just a spoiled rotten kid that is going to have what it wants—one way or another. When seen in that light, you see all the spoiled kids you have known in your life for what they really are: monsters.