Case 39 - A Movie Review

What are you so afraid of? She’s just an innocent little girl.

Case 39 was released to theaters in 2009. In the fight to resolve one of her most recent cases, a social worker takes in a young abused girl. After some time, Emily wishes that she studied this girl’s story more before making this decision.

Always remember to look at the facts before going ahead with a decision. Boy, did I have Case 39 wrong. Case 39 had me on the edge of my seat. Based on the layout of the story, I was not expecting the direction the story would take.

Renee Zellweger demonstrates a fighting attitude. As a hard social worker, Emily has no idea what she is in for. Zellweger did a fantastic job getting herself into the right state of hysteria. However, I will say that Emily doesn’t have the best survival skills. Aside from that, I was astounded by Emily’s composure along with her fight to fend for herself.

Managing to be offputting and cute at the same time, I was impressed by Jodelle Ferland. For a young actress, she did a superb job in her deliveries. This was a tough role, but Ferland masterfully sold her performance. Even though she was on my TV screen, I was terrified of this little girl, backing into my sofa!

Zelwegger and Ferland worked tremendously together. They drove the film to what it was. At first, creating a sweet connection, the actors did a tremendous job evoking the true terror of the story.

At first, I thought the roles of the parents (Callum Keith Rennie and Kerry O’Malley) were over-the-top, but once you watch it a second time the actors did a remarkable job. Based on the subtle direction in their behavior, you easily get the feeling that something is wrong.

Be on the lookout for Bradley Cooper. I adored the sarcasm between Emily and Doug. He encounters a disturbing scene that nobody wants to find themselves in. Cooper also demonstrates remarkable talents as he has not been seen in the horror genre.

Other credits include Ian McShane, Adrian Lester, Cynthia Stevenson, Alexander Conti, Mary Black, and David Patrick Green.

Be prepared for one of the best disturbing scenes in the film. I thought Cooper’s nightmare sequence was a dream, no it was not. Viewers should be on alert because this terrifying scene comes out of nowhere. There is one frightening character that shows up out of nowhere in one of my favorite jump scares of the film.

And I was thinking that Case 39 was not going to be scary. The makeup effects were frightening. Christian Alvart knew how to mess with your head. Once you realize that the story has a different meaning altogether, it’s not the same film on the first watch. I was expecting Case 39 to have a completely different story from what I saw in the trailer.

Camera angles delivered an ominous tone. That and the music cues bought a chilling atmosphere. It set the tone of the film making you feel on edge. I also liked Alvart’s direction on how a stressful situation impacts someone.

I felt that the film contained unrealistic reactions from some characters in situations. For story purposes, writers decided not to explain certain details. Case 39 ran on reminiscent cliches from other films of the horror genre. Despite this, I had a great time watching this film.

Case 39 obtains a sinister tone. The angle was planned out well so it wouldn’t be predictable. I recommend that you find Case 39 on Netflix and watch it.