Case 39 (2010)

Buried in work, child services worker Emily Jenkins (Renée Zellweger) is given yet another case (her 39TH) to deal with by her boss Wayne (Adrian Lester). The case regards the apparent poor treatment of a young girl named Lillith (Jodelle Ferland) at the hands of her parents. Emily fights to have the girl removed from her parents custody, but struggles without insufficient evidence and red tape.


Following a late night phone call from the terrified girl, Emily begs for help from an old friend in the police department, Detective Mike Barron (Ian McShane), and interrupts the parent's plans to brutally kill their daughter.
Removed from her parents, Lillith is taken in by Emily and it turns out that she's perhaps not as innocent as she appears.
Jodelle Ferland is fantastic as Lillith. In fact, she's by far the best thing about the film. She effectively transitions from innocent and sweet to menacing. Renee Zellweger gets the job done admirably and it’s nice to see her return horror after ages away.
Christian Alvart (Pandorum) directs with fairly obvious homages to everything from Alfred Hitchcock to Stephen King. While I appreciate his influences, we are left with a narrative doesn't flow very smoothly and lacks any personal style.
In the end, Case 39 is tough to review as any discussion of the story risks ruining the experience.  Suffice to say, Emily’s 39^th case file brings with it misfortune for her and anyone close to her.  Her attempts to escape the evil associated with case 39 carry the movie forward at a brisk enough pace to keep you interested until the end credits roll.