I think that for a movie to be truly scary, it needs to have scenes that you would never expect, and a good twist, and a slice of reality. Thankfully, Case 39, which I saw an advanced screening of, had all of these. From Christian Alvert (director of the little-liked (I liked it) Pandorum), comes this horror/thriller with a twist that few will see coming.
Emily (Renee Zellweger) is a social worker who takes interest in Lilith (Jodelle Ferland) because of her recent family life. One day, Emily goes to Lilith’s house, only to find that her parents are attempting to cook her alive. She has the parents sent to a mental institution, and she begins to take care of Lilith. That’s when the evil begins to haunt Emily’s house.
Best Aspects: Great twist, a couple jumpy parts, a lot of death, and good acting (some creepy acting, I might add).
Bottom Line: B+. A good Halloween movie that will scare a child and marvel an adult from its interesting twist. See it… if you dare. No, but seriously, see it.
I liked Pandorum. I liked how it stepped a little outside the norm for the genre, and Dennis Quaid actually did a fine job in it. I like Renee Zellewegger, too, especially ever since “Cold Mountain.” I was a little worried because this reminded me a bit of “The Orphanage” which I was actually a little disappointed in. But, based on your review, I’m totally going to go see it! But, “Let Me In” and “Social Network” are out this week, too, so those are still first on my list!! :)
Let Me In will, if it follows the original, be amazing, so I’d see that one first… but… uh… WHAT?! YOU DIDN’T LIKE THE ORPHANAGE?! Why?! That was my favorite scary movie ever!
And no, it isn’t like The Orphanage.
I definitely didn’t hate it. I was just disappointed in it. I made the amateur mistake of seeing Guillermo del Toro’s name attached and hoped it would be something of his caliber. (I know, I know, stupid mistake because producers are NOT the director…) So, I think it was because my expectations were different of it, not because the movie itself was bad. But, I think that Cronenberg’s The Brood is tops for horror… :)
Eh, Cronenberg is just… he is too… Cronenbergy… I can’t really explain why, but I only liked one of his movies (Eastern Promises) and that was just because of some certain parts. anywho, yeah, never EVER see a movie because they pimp slapped some guy’s name on it as producer (examples: Robert Rodriguez on Predators, Guillermo del Toro in Splice, Eli Roth on The Last Exorcism).
Lol, I agree with you about Cronenberg. But, I loved the Cronenberginess, I must admit!! Existenz, Eastern Promises, Spider, Dead Zone, Videodrome, Naked Lunch, all of it! :) But, he is doing an Eastern Promises 2, which could be interesting… The first is another of my favorite movies, as is Spider.
And, I know, the mistake was completely amateur. I know, and at the time did as well, that producers just help get films released and distributed. But, Guillermo is rarely attached to projects these days, and I let my excitement get the best of me! Stupidly. But, I think that I gave the movie an unfair chance because of that. I’m going to watch it again. :) (But, in case you haven’t read my review of My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done, if you like David Lynch, that movie actually is similar to his work, so him slapping his name on it actually does the film justice. Just a side comment!)