Case 39
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: October 1, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
25
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
1
Mixed:
2
Negative:
12
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
MovielineMichelle Orange
There is enough lurid, ludicrous subtext in the material to keep fans of such things happy. As trash, this is top of the line. Read full review
50
The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis
Radiating a distinctly retro vibe, this throwaway thriller from the German director Christian Alvart tosses a bone to Renée Zellweger, who chews it to a nub as Emily Jenkins, a harried social worker. Read full review
40
EmpireIan Nathan
Manages to be both very silly and highly forgettable. Only for those who collect killer-children films. Read full review
38
Orlando SentinelRoger Moore
It's only a movie, and not a remotely effective one. And for Zellweger, whose "Miss Potter" and "Appaloosa" were barely seen, with "Leatherheads" and "New in Town" further deflating her A-list clout, that's the real shame here. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeEthan Gilsdorf
Introduce the supernatural, and anything goes. Here, everything does. And that's a problem no one can solve. At least it wasn't called "Case 666." Read full review
30
VarietyJordan Mintzer
This ludicrous outing from helmer Christian Alvart ("Pandorum") and scribe Ray Wright ("The Crazies") takes its psycho-satanic babble much too seriously, and should elicit more laughs than frights. Read full review
30
Boxoffice MagazinePam Grady
A mess of a horror movie that spent several years sitting on a shelf and should have remained there living up to its fullest potential as a dust magnet. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesRobert Abele
One can't help experiencing the same dread about the exhausting flood of lackluster horror films that swamp our screens and, as Case 39 unfolds, realizing we're enduring one more. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
Director Christian Alvart ("Pandorum") is unable to invest much stylization into the proceedings, and Ray Wright's by-the-book screenplay only serves as a reminder of the innumerable demon-child movies that have preceded this one. Read full review
30
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
Has there ever been a more inept trio of big-city caseworkers? Go ahead, Lilith. Unleash the hounds. Read full review
25
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Zellweger has come an awful long way since Matthew McConaughey terrorized her in "Texas Chainsaw Masscare": The Next Generation, but not quite as far as she might like to imagine. Read full review
20
Time OutNick Schager
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. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Neither so awful as to be enjoyable nor eerily artful enough to be anything other than a snoozy also-ran in the perpetually poor plotting machine that is the demon-child cinematic subgenre. Read full review
16
Entertainment WeeklyChris Nashawaty
An aggressively inept demon-seed chiller starring a bunch of grown-ups who should've known better. Read full review
12
New York PostLeigh Paatsch
This movie is so self- combustingly bad it could never be good. But it's damn great fun to watch the thing go up in flames anyway. Read full review
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