Joshua

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan

This is a very dark little drama, perhaps you could even call it a thriller or a horror, that was quietly dumped onto dvd in Australia a few years back, with a horrible hooky demonic child cover and the subtitle "The Devil's Son" added. Even the trailer does as much. They are trying to sell this as The Omen, which is like trying to sell Rosemary's Baby as Saw. They are not the same kind of film, and it's a great shame because I think a lot of people have missed out on a really intriguing and brilliantly made film, and everyone that wanted The Omen would have been pissed off they instead got a slow burn drama.

Sam Rockwell and Vera Famigra are so great in this. You watch them fall apart piece by piece as their family just implodes in on itself. Some really insanity going on here and you feel for them but at the same time the audience is never really let in on everything that's going on so you're never sure who to trust. It's far to easy to just label this as an "evil child" movie but there are many more factors to consider and intriguingly (or frustratingly) no concrete answers are given, although most people have strong opinions about what they saw happen, which always leads to interesting post film discussion.

It is a slow paced film but one that I find extremely engaging. The characters, especially Joshua, are these enigmas that you could study for hours just trying to figure out what's going on in their head. And it's not without its more horrific moments especially when paranoia kicks in.

I highly recommend giving this overlooked film a go.