If a horror film could try too hard to earn its scares while simultaneously failing to do anything original in already well-worn territory within its genre, Case 39 would be that film. How many films have we seen in the last decade alone (not to mention those even older and better known) featuring possessed or demonic children seemingly the living incarnation of Satan himself? The Damian-type character seems to frequently pop up as a horror device but rarely is it used well. Blame it on the increasing difficulty to get the audience to doubt what they guess from the film’s outset, or blame it on the inability of the average horror script to hide a twist ending or build to a proper level of suspense. For Case 39 it’s a combination of all three along with a weak leading performance by Renee Zellweger.
Part of me thinks I should offer a spoiler alert here, except the film squelches any doubts about where the story is going within the first 30 minutes making it very clear that this is in fact another horror tale about an evil child. So you figure, if they want you to know that then surely they build the suspense and begin crafting incrementally creepier fates for the few characters it gives us a chance to hold dear in its flimsy introduction. It doesn’t. One particularly interesting death involves a swarm of hornets, but after that everything else feels like just another cheap parlor trick of sudden bumps in the night and quick pop-ups.
The story begins with heroic but overworked Emily (Zellweger), an employee of child services, drowning in her desk load of 38 cases, only to have one more dumped in her lap (the film’s title is that obvious, that quickly). The 39th case involves a young girl shut off from the other kids at school and showing clear signs of neglect from her parents. After Emily consults with her child therapist friend (Bradley Cooper), and receiving an odd call one night, she and her friend at the local police department (Ian McShane) rescue the girl from her murderous and seemingly insane parents (Callum Keith Rennie & Kerry O’Malley) in the nick of time, Emily’s big heart prompts her to take the girl in to her own home. Before long, the girl, Lily (Jodelle Ferland) begins to show behavior suggesting that maybe her parents knew what they were doing when they tried to have her killed. As time wears on and horrible things begin to happen, Lilith shows her true colors and Emily must find a way to rid herself and the world of the cherubic terror.
The storytelling, the build to suspense, and the performances (save for one) are all quite dismal or barely average. The one bright spot amidst this maelstrom of poor writing, acting, and directing is Jodelle Ferland who proves genuinely creepy as the demonic little child. If any part of a Damian-style story is going to work, it had better be the hell child, otherwise why did you even bother in the first place? Zellweger comes across as a hopeless mess right from the start, so when she mixes in desperation at the end it doesn’t feel like progression but just a slight, barely noticeable addition to the characterization. Ian McShane can do better and deserves better than the worthless placeholder of a role he took on here.
The film’s visuals feel like a slightly more fleshed out Paranormal Activity with the most visually stimulating parts involving fire or an imploding door. When Case 39 attempts to flex its CGI muscles with fake hornets it’s glaringly fake and would ruin the scene if it weren’t the creepiest moment it had to offer. On Blu-ray the poor CGI will make you cringe, but the audio delivers on a reasonable level and allows for some of the more unnerving audio-based scares to resonate slightly.
The film doesn’t really warrant your attention, but if you’ve got a craving for horror and you’ve burnt through all the other non-direct-to-DVD fare, then give it a shot. Just don’t be surprised when it plays out like a paint-by-numbers horror film.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The extras are quite basic with a standard behind the scenes featurettes, and then, comically enough, three featurettes outlining how they made the movie as “scary” as they did including a look at the barely passable CGI used for the hornet sequence and the instances where fire is used (I’ll not say more lest it be a spoiler). Finally some deleted scenes complete the set.
"Case 39" is on sale January 4, 2011 and is rated R. Horror, Thriller. Directed by Christian Alvart. Written by Ray Wright. Starring Ian McShane, Jodelle Ferland, Renee Zellweger.
