Filmed in 2006 but not released until the fall of 2010, it’s easy to assume that director Christian Alvart’s supernatural thriller Case 39 is a steaming pile of horror-tinged excrement. Not many quality films, after all, are put on the shelf for four years only to be unceremoniously dumped into a short theatrical run before being punted onto home video.
Case 39 is not quite as bad as its situation might suggest. It’s also not quite as good as its potential might lead one to hope. The movie, which deals with a demonic child run amok, builds its horror in a slow burn — unfortunately there’s no final combustion. A film can have all the plot development in the world but if the plot never develops into anything worth watching, it will all have been a waste of time.
Renée Zellweger stars as Emily Jenkins, a social worker who has a hard time separating herself from her cases. When she is sent to investigate the family of Lillith Sullivan, a 10-year-old girl with big eyes and a sweet smile, Emily finds herself sucked into the family’s drama — specifically the young girl’s claim that her parents are trying to kill her.
As Lillith, Jodelle Ferland is a daughter anybody could hope for. Polite, soft spoken and caring to the extreme, Lillith manages to worm her way into Emily’s thoughts — prompting the stressed out social worker to go above the line of duty in her investigation. It’s this tenacity that eventually puts her in a position where she’s able to witness the murderous intentions of Lillith’s parents first hand — arriving at their home just in the nick of time to stop Lillith from being roasted alive in the family oven.
Putting aside common sense and not bothering to ask any of the questions real social workers might (such as to why the girl’s parents might want to shuffle their daughter off the mortal coil), Emily volunteers to house the girl until a more permanent home can be found. That warm feeling of a good deed done right soon turns sour, though, when Emily’s friends and loved ones begin dying in horrible, bloody ways. All clues point to Lillith, the sweet young girl Emily invited into her home, as the one responsible for the deaths.
Before you can say The Omen, it soon becomes apparent that Case 39 treads the same path as easily a dozen other films that have come before it. From creepy children to deadly phone calls to demonic-influenced hallucinations, Case 39 is overtly redundant. Every atom of the film feels tired and well worn. There’s little to be found that’s original or exciting. Case 39 feels like a compilation disc of well-known pop songs — but one of those sound-alike versions that are rerecorded by sub-par studio musicians.
With an unoriginal plot, the film’s success rests on the shoulders of its cast. Renée Zellweger gives her character the same level of depth and nuance as she does any role she plays — which is to say little to none. Zellweger’s character follows the chain of plot contrivances necessary to take her from point A to point Z — stumbling over every chain link along the way. A large chunk of blame can be left at the foot of writer Ray Wright — presented like a cat offers up dead bird.
Characters’ motivations are glossed over — or even worse — mutated into some grotesque approximation of a human’s actions. Case 39 is extremely guilty in featuring stupid characters doing absurdly stupid things. The characters serve the script as opposed to the other way around.
Supporting Zellweger is Bradley Cooper, as a psychiatrist who works with many of Emily’s families, and Ian McShane as Detective Mike Barron, one of the worst cops to ever grace the silver screen. McShane’s cop is a character that, with one 20-second voicemail message, is convinced he needs to kill a child. See what I was saying about serving the script?
Cooper is largely wasted in the film, save for one scene that sees him fall victim to some of the worst looking CGI insects to ever crawl out of a character’s ear.
Case 39 is not a terrible film. It is, though, utterly forgettable in the worst way possible. Almost offensive in its blandness, the movie won’t not hurt your brain with lame special effects (though there are a few groan worthy moments where the film comes close to overdosing on CGI) or a hard to follow plot (oh, how I wish the plot provided anything close to a twist). It won’t hurt your brain because it won’t even make an impression on it. Watching Case 39 is the equivalent of throwing a cotton ball at an abominable snowman during a blizzard.
Case 39 is presented in 1080p high definition. While the colors are crisp, there’s nothing in the film’s cinematography to make the film’s Blu-ray presentation stand out. There is a softness to the visual presentation that helps to make the Blu-ray transfer as unmemorable an experience as possible.
The film’s soundtrack, an English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, clearly presents the film’s audio and dialogue in an easy-to-understand manner and makes effective use of the various stereo channels.
All the special features are in standard definition.
Filed Under “Evil”: Inside Case 39 — An eight minute promotional puff piece in which the cast and crew discuss the making of the movie.
Turning Up the Heat on the Chill Factor — As redundant as the film the crew is discussing, this is a four minute featurette that contains more cast and crew interviews.
Inside the Hornet’s Nest — A few exercised scenes that fail to register as important in any real way. The scenes total three minutes in length.
Playing with Fire — A four minute look at the film’s climatic scene in which a house is burnt to the ground.
Deleted Scenes — There are 18 deleted scenes. None of them amount to anything worth seeking out but fans of the movie might enjoy the added bit of plot development they contain.
Case 39 is not a movie worth seeking out. There’s enough familiar ground tread that if you happen to catch the film on a lazy Saturday afternoon, audiences might be able to enjoy it for what it’s worth — a well-groved journey into the supernatural. While the scares may be familiar and the plot overtly redundant, the movie could have been a lot worse. Wait for the film to show up in your local Blu-ray bargain bin. It’ll be there soon enough.
Paramount Home Entertainment presents Case 39. Directed by: Christian Alvart. Starring: Renee Zellweger, Jodelle Ferland, Ian McShane and Bradley Cooper. Written by: Ray Wright. Running time: 109 minutes. Rating: R. Released on Blu-Ray: January 4, 2010.
