Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
In her many years as a social worker, Emily Jenkins believes she has seen it all, until she meets 10-year-old Lilith and the girl's cruel parents. Emily's worst fears are confirmed when the parents try to harm the child, and so Emily assumes custody of Lilith while she looks for a foster family. However, Emily soon finds that dark forces surround the seemingly innocent girl, and the more she tries to protect Lilith, the more horrors she encounters.
Case 39 is a serviceable but formulaic evil-child horror thriller that treads very familiar ground. The plot borrows heavily from genre predecessors like The Omen and Orphan without adding much new, and the story logic grows increasingly shaky as it progresses. Renée Zellweger and Bradley Cooper deliver competent performances that elevate the material somewhat, but the script doesn't give them much to work with. The cinematography is functional but unremarkable, relying on standard horror lighting and jump-scare staging. Novelty is low — the evil-child conceit and social-worker-in-peril setup feel recycled, and the supernatural elements are generic. The ending resolves things adequately but without any real punch or surprise, leaving little lasting impression.