Joshua

I’ll always love you…no matter what!” Brad (Sam Rockwell) tells his genius son. This promise is sorely tested when a new baby arrives in the Cairn household and the family devotes their attention to newborn Lily, unwisely ignoring her nine-year old brother, Joshua.”

Laura's Review: DNS

DNS

Robin's Review: B-

This is a slow cooking, low-key thriller about a highly intelligent, sociopath child who, maybe, is manipulating his mother, father and family. When Lilly is born, she is a good-natured baby – for the first 31 days. Then, for reasons unknown, she begins to cry. And cry and cry and cry, day after day, week after week. The baby’s mom, Abby, starts showing the toll of the nonstop keening and, already strained by new motherhood, sinks into a deep depression. Stock analyst Brad must take a more active part in raising his kids and contend with a wife who is sinking more and more deeply into her own troubled mind. Harried by the increased responsibility, he fails to see the subtle signs that there is a problem with Joshua. By the time Brad figures out what is going on with his son, it is far too late Jacob Kagan, as piano prodigy/genius Joshua, uses a stare and, too frequently, an innocent batting of the eyes at the camera to convey the enigma of the young sociopath. It is more guesswork and assumption as the boy wreaks intentional havoc on his family but there are some creepy moments as to he plays the puppeteer all of those around him. Kagan, under helmer/co-writer George Ratliff’s guidance, channels Damien in “The Omen” but without the 666 on his head. Joshua” is the kind of movie that makes you want to yell at the characters: Can’t you see what your crazy kid is doing?!?! Although it is pretty predictable there is enough dark humor and creepy moments to make up for its laconic pace.