| Rating: |  |
| Starring: | Bradley Cooper, Ian McShane, Jodelle Ferland, Renee Zellweger |
| Release Date: | 5th March 2010 |
| Run Time: | 109 Minutes |
| Certificate: | 15 |
If you want more proof that children are evil soulless monsters, then looks no further. Case 39 provides more than enough reason to stay sprog free.
Social worker Emily (Renee Zellweger) is buried in work, so shes none too pleased when yet another case file lands on her desk. But curiosity gets the better of her and she opens the documents to what is apparently another routine abuse claim.
She visits the house of Lilith (horror movie rule #78 – when you find out a characters name is Lilith, you know theyre going to be trouble), a seemingly innocent girl thats been subjected to serious psychological abuse from her creepy parents.
Lilith implores Emily to consider being her foster parent, to which Emily reluctantly agrees. But predictably Lilith turns out to be more than she bargained for when those close to Emily start meeting gruesome ends.
The film has its moments a scene in which Liliths parents toss her in the oven is genuinely unsettling and for the first half, it looks as if were going to get a movie with a little more imagination than your average schlock scream-fest. But just as you think it might have some tricks up its sleeve, it hits Clich City outer limits and becomes just another dumb, forgettable horror.
Renee Zellweger is fine as an earnest social worker but when the film turns nasty, she struggles to be believably terrified her screeches are more annoying than fear-inspiring. And when the film requires her to get tough shes equally unconvincing – its like being threatened by a kicked puppy.
Quite why Lilith is intent on tormenting people is also a bit of mystery childish 
pique isnt a very satisfying motivator. And if they wanted with shes just plain evil it would have been better if it simply gone down Drag Me To Hells rollercoaster balls-to-the-wall horror route.
Supporting cast Bradley Cooper and Ian McShane turn up in love-interest psychiatrist and friendly detective roles but are quickly relegated to targets for the vengeful little beast. Theres a guilty pleasure to be had from Bradley Cooper being called facile and smug by a 10 year old girl, but its utterly ridiculous that his character would actually be bothered by this.
The problem is that once the film commits to the fact that the child is a demon, it needs to reach some kind of resolution. And after that becomes clear, theres only one way the film can go to a predictably tired and hackneyed conclusion which offers no surprises and few scares.
By: Jez Sands
