Case 39 (2009) Dir: Christian Alvart

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Admittedly, I was not expecting a whole lot from this 2009 horror. However, I found it to be a lot better than I gave it credit for initially.

Directed by Christian Alvart, the film might not be the most visually spectacular, but it is fundamentally solid and executes everything it needs to pretty well with minimal CGI.

The story is relatively simple, but also surprisingly effective. I think it had some really good pacing for the most part, which allowed the suspense to build at a gradual enough pace to keep the audience invested without rushing towards the end.

Renée Zelweiger of Bridget Jones fame stars and provides a much better performance than I expected for a horror role. I did not have her pegged for this style of character but credit where credit is due, she did a pretty good job.

A young Jodelle Ferland absolutely steals the show however, outshining some truly big Hollywood names to give what is easily the best performance. I thoroughly enjoyed the way she presented her character's duality and nature - very impressive.

Finally, I'll give mentions to two of the aforementioned big names who appeared; Bradley Cooper and Ian McShane - both giving decent enough performances in surprisingly small roles for actors of their credibility.

Overall, I would definitely say this I'd something of an underrated horror with a surprisingly high quality cast that delivers some pretty solid performances.

This is definitely one for the everyday horror fan to sit down and check out - I'm certainly glad I gave it a chance.