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—— Fill the Void May 24
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—— After Earth May 31
—— Now You See Me May 31
88% The East May 31
100% The Kings of Summer May 31

Case 39 (2010)

tomatometer

23

Average Rating: 4/10
Reviews Counted: 71
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 55

Director Christian Alvert has a certain stylish flair, but it's wasted on Case 39's frightless, unoriginal plot.

0

Average Rating: 2.6/10
Critic Reviews: 9
Fresh: 0 | Rotten: 9

Director Christian Alvert has a certain stylish flair, but it's wasted on Case 39's frightless, unoriginal plot.

audience

42

liked it
Average Rating: 3/5
User Ratings: 66,078

My Rating

Movie Info

In CASE 39, family services social worker Emily Jenkins (Renée Zellweger) thinks she has seen it all... until she meets 10-year old Lilith Sullivan (Jodelle Ferland) and the child's cruel and dangerous parents. Her worst fears are confirmed when the parents try to harm Lily, their only daughter. Frightened for her life, Emily enlists the help of Detective Mike Barron (Ian McShane) and takes Lily in while she continues the search for the perfect foster family. Just as it seems as though Lily is

R,

Mystery & Suspense, Horror

Ray Wright

Jan 4, 2011

$13.2M

Paramount Studios - Official Site External Icon

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Cast

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All Critics (71) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (16) | Rotten (56) | DVD (2)

It's a bummer when the audience is smarter than the protagonist.

October 7, 2010 Full Review Source: Boston Globe | Comments (3)
Boston Globe
Top Critic IconTop Critic

From a bevy of cheesy jolt scares (alarm clock! barking dog!) to the embarrassing sight of Zellweger and Ian McShane treating this Orphan-style B-movie silliness with grave seriousness, the film proves to be one hokey-horror riot.

October 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Time Out New York | Comment (1)
Time Out New York
Top Critic IconTop Critic

By the time the killings start, it's clear that Ray Wright's screenplay is more interested in following formula than in breaking new ground.

October 5, 2010 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comments (2)
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The devil made them do it, but that doesn't mean you have to see it.

October 4, 2010 Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | Comments (2)
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic IconTop Critic

[Plays] like one more piece of multiplex in-box clutter, ready for the circular file in our moviegoing consciousness.

October 2, 2010 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | Comment (1)
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

An aggressively inept demon-seed chiller starring a bunch of grown-ups who should've known better.

October 2, 2010 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The end of Zellweger as we've known her.

January 29, 2013 Full Review Source: Movie Nation
Movie Nation

While it's able to pull you in at some points with its eerie mood, it needed a lot more originality and better scares than the cheap kind of just having things pop up out of nowhere.

September 23, 2012 Full Review Source: Examiner.com
Examiner.com

[A] dumb thriller.

April 4, 2011 Full Review Source: Movies.com
Movies.com

...a decent little horror flick...

January 30, 2011 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews
Reel Film Reviews

Directed by Christian Alvart (Pandorum) with a less than giddy hand, Case 39 is truly terrible. But at least it scores a few 'so bad it's good' points.

January 26, 2011 Full Review Source: Horror.com
Horror.com

Not only is Case 39 deplorable and morally off-center, the film is dull to boot.

January 16, 2011 Full Review Source: IGN DVD | Comment (1)
IGN DVD

What starts out as slight and fairly obvious turns into a frequently colorful horror tale.

January 9, 2011 Full Review Source: FEARnet
FEARnet

Neither the the direction acting nor is the problem here. It's the script that does the picture in. (Blu-ray Edition)

December 24, 2010 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis
Movie Metropolis

...we get a couple of moments of genuine suspense combined with a whole lot of cheap thrills.

December 24, 2010 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis
Movie Metropolis

What do you do with a crummy horror movie that has been sitting on the shelf for a couple, or maybe three, years?

October 30, 2010 Full Review Source: KWQC-TV (Iowa) | Comment (1)
KWQC-TV (Iowa)

... before the movie is half over, the usual cliches take over ...

October 16, 2010 Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review
Sacramento News & Review

Its time to put the nail in the otherworldly evil child genre until someone comes up with something original. The only thing supernatural about Case 39 is its ungodly presence on this planet.

October 15, 2010 Full Review Source: Film Threat
Film Threat

What do you do with a crummy horror movie that has been sitting on the shelf for a couple, or maybe three, years?

October 9, 2010 Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | Comment (1)
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

Neither so awful as to be enjoyable nor eerily artful enough to be anything other than a snoozy also-ran.

October 9, 2010 Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle
Austin Chronicle

in the meantime, director Christian Alvart went on to make the effectively moody "Pandorum," but this movie is a dud.

October 8, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media

It's as lame as can be, and despite sitting on the shelf for four years, it's not even bad enough to be unintentionally funny.

October 8, 2010 Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

Unremarkable except for its subversive subtext.

October 7, 2010 Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix
Boston Phoenix

As demonic children movies go, it?s really not bad -- and the acting makes it seem a little better than that.

October 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Audience Reviews for Case 39

While a Zellweger fan (and she does well here) this story about innocent looking and acting DEMON CHILD! has been done before and better, and hoping and wishing for a new wrinkle here won't make it real. Ahh, well ... better luck next time.
May 19, 2013
UniversalDreamer

Super Reviewer

three stars
January 23, 2011
YodaMasterJedi
MisterYoda ?

Super Reviewer

    1. Emily Jenkins: Are you scared?[Lilith is trembling] Well I'm not...
    – Submitted by Rawballs B (15 months ago)
    1. Wayne: I interviewed many children till now, but never felt like this.
    2. Emily Jenkins: How did you feel?
    3. Wayne: Threatened.
    – Submitted by Srikar D (22 months ago)
    1. Lilith Sullivan: What are you doing, you silly pumpkinhead.
    – Submitted by Chris P (2 years ago)
    1. Emily Jenkins: They say when you're born you're given your eternal soul. The part of you that lives on, lives again. Whatever evil she is,didn't come from us. It was already there. From the moment she came into being, she brought something with her. Something older, destructive. Soul of a demon.
    – Submitted by Chris P (2 years ago)

Discussion Forum

Topic Last Post Replies
undeserved bad reviews 42 days ago 0
undeserved bad reviews 42 days ago 0

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Foreign Titles

  • Fall 39 (DE)
  • Expediente 39 (ES)
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