CS Weekly Archive > Weekend Read > 07/06/07

I Knew Damien Thorn,
And You, Sir, Are No Damien Thorn

By peter clines

Joshua

David Gilbert and George Ratliff (also directed)

Brad and Abby (Sam Rockwell and Vera Fargima) are celebrating the birth of their second child when they begin dealing with a spate of odd behavior from their son, Joshua (Jacob Kogan), even as a series of strange noises and incidents amplify Abby's post- partum stress. As time passes and their nerves continue to fray, Brad begins to suspect that his son may be responsible for this ongoing psychological torture. Joshua (both the character and the film) wants to be The Omen for the 21st century, but despite some phenomenal performances, it fails because of three major writing flaws. First is a complete lack of originality. There isn't a single plot point that we haven't see in any number of other "evil child" movies (The Bad Seed, for example). Second, alas, is the mistake of having characters who are dumber than the audience and can't recognize that Joshua is a deeply messed up kid, even though it's painfully obvious five minutes into the film. Which leads into the third flaw—a pair of gigantic, almost simultaneous plot holes, either one of which makes the last act of the film laughably ridiculous. One or two of these points might be surmountable, but even in evil Little League, three strikes means you're out.

Joshua
Fox Searchlight
Rated R; 105 min.

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Peter Clines has had a lifelong love affair with the movies. He grew up in New England, where he studied English literature and education, and now lives and writes somewhere in Southern California. If anyone knows exactly where, he would appreciate a few hints.

Joshua courtesy Fox Searchlight

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