Case 39

"Some cases should never be opened."

2009 1h 49m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 2,450

HorrorMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Some cases should never be opened.”

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Cast

Renée Zellweger
Emily Jenkins
Jodelle Ferland
Lillith Sullivan
Ian McShane
Detective Mike Barron
Bradley Cooper
Douglas J. Ames
Adrian Lester
Wayne
Kerry O'Malley
Margaret Sullivan
Callum Keith Rennie
Edward Sullivan
Cynthia Stevenson
Nancy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Christian Alvart
Writers: Ray Wright
Languages: English
Countries: Canada, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 17 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CAST

Did you know

227+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Christian Alvart, shot by Hagen Bogdanski. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michl Britsch. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor Mark Goldblatt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Renée Zellweger and Jodelle Ferland and Ian McShane carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Some cases should never be opened.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Christian Alvart directs. Hagen Bogdanski behind the camera. Michl Britsch scores. Mark Goldblatt cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Canada, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 17 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.
3227+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
4Directed by Christian Alvart, shot by Hagen Bogdanski. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Michl Britsch. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Mark Goldblatt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Renée Zellweger and Jodelle Ferland and Ian McShane carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Some cases should never be opened.".
9IMDB entry: tt0795351 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 15 themes, including "child abuse", "social worker", "detective", "office".

The technical file

Cinematography: Hagen Bogdanski
Original score: Michl Britsch
Editing: Mark Goldblatt
Production design: John Willett
Costume design: Monique Prudhomme
Makeup / hair: Susan Boyd
VFX supervisor: Edson Williams
Sound: Ronald Eng
Stunt coordinator: Marny Eng
Runtime: 109 min · 1h 49m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $27,000,000
Box office: $29,000,000
Return: 107% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Case 39 (2009)

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Christian Alvart

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-07-03
★ 6/10
Keep Away From Children. Case 39 is directed by Christian Alvart and written by Ray Wright. It stars Renee Zellwegger, Jodelle Ferland, Ian McShane and Bradley Cooper. Music is by Michl Britsch and cinematography by Hagen Bodanski. Another in the long line of demonic/psycho children films, Case 39 sat on the shelf for a few years before finally seeing the light of day around 2009. Met with a whole bunch of negative reviews it is somewhat pleasing to find that while it’s not a misunderstood classic or anything, it actually works well within this sub-genre of horror. Story in short order form has Zellwegger as Emily Jenkins, a social worker who after rescuing young Lilly Sullivan from crazed parents, takes her in on a temporary foster basis and soon comes to regret it. Offering up a more supernatural slant than many other films of a similar ilk, German director Alvart does still follow the familiar formula for crazed child movies. Lillith (unsubtle name or what?!) serenely ingratiates herself into Emily’s world and that of the people around her, then of course things start happening, bad things. Having taken his time to build it up during the first half, Alvart then revels in unleashing demonic chaos, with young Ferland giving an unnervingly superb performance as Lilly. The shocks and psychological torments are tidily crafted, and it all builds to a suitably daft and frenetic finale. It’s too long at nearly two hours in length, it’s sometimes silly and it’s cliché heavy. However, some striking scenes, a mightily strong child performance and the decent chiller thriller fun factor, lifts this just above average status. 6/10
Reno2016-11-04
★ 7/10
Just do your job! Don't think above that like you can be a saviour! It looked like some kind of thriller, that's what anybody would say if they read the title correctly. The story was suspense, well developed to keep that for a very long time. Though it had no major twist, just a revelation like clarifying our doubts. Because most of the storyline seems alike 'Orphan', the film that came just months before this one. But this is a horror theme, I mean real horror, not a terror-horror like 'Orphan'. The overall story relied on one big secret that revealed at some time in the final act. I have seen many films about the child abuse, and this one set in as a same kind of theme, but takes a turn during the end of the first act. So when a social worker, Emily, finds a ten year old Lilith was abused by her own parents, she takes her away from them, followed by theirs arrest. Later, Emily adopts Lilith, but soon finds some strange events around her circle. That leads to suspect Lilith, but could not prove anything. Finding the truth becomes her first priority, but how she's going to solve it is what leads us to the conclusion part. I haven't seen Renee Zellweger in any recent films, she looked so good in this. Jodelle Ferland too was good as a little girl, the most important role in the film. But Bradley Cooper was in a small part. I think it was a decent film, but not a fresh theme, except developed differently with a new cast. If you are a big horror film fan, you might disappoint with it. Because those parts were minimised and the suspense was maximised. Yet surely most of us can easily predict many scenes, event the ending. So I conclude my review saying it is a decent watch. 6.5/10