Joshua (2007)

There is nothing more creepy than a creepy child. Admittedly, I don’t know any in real life, but the ones I’ve seen at the movies sure give me the heebie-jeebies. Joshua is an attempt to bring some class to the psycho-kid genre, and while it works well enough on some levels, it ultimately fails.

The Cairn family have just received a new addition – a baby girl, Lily. Mum, Abby (Vera Farmiga) and dad, Brad (Sam Rockwell) couldn’t be happier. However, nine year old Joshua (you wouldn’t dream of calling this kid, Josh) seems disinterested at best. A piano prodigy, he is always impeccably groomed, keeps to himself and has not been known to crack a smile. 

We gleam from a home video that Joshua was a serial cryer as a baby and Abby didn’t cope very well. Nine years later, she seems to regard him less as a son who needs care and cuddles, and more as a lodger whose presence is quietly accepted but not really enjoyed. Brad on the other hand makes a decent effort to engage Joshua but it’s not easy, what with the kid being more into learning about Egyptian-style mummification than playing soccer.

Very (and I mean, very) slowly things start to happen which may or may not be Joshua’s doing. After being the perfect baby for weeks, Lily suddenly becomes a crying nightmare. Family dog mysteriously dies upon which Joshua sheds what are clearly crocodile tears. Meanwhile, Abby slowly disintegrates into a complete mental mess, treating us to a scene after scene of either weeping, staring into space or hysterics.

At this point I became quite seriously convinced that the film was actually a drama about post-natal depression. I thought, the filmmakers have cloaked a serious topic in psychological thriller clothing to maximise audience and get their message across – good for them.

That, of course, was off the mark – I had temporarily forgotten the film is after all fully titled, Joshua: The Devil’s Child (in Australia only). Off the mark was also my misjudged conviction that some kind of a twist at the end would explain all the strangeness as either nothing to do with Joshua or at least provide a plausible reason for his behaviour. (Yes, I am simple like that.)

But, it turns out, Joshua is just a bad seed and that sir, really doesn’t cut it for me. It would cut it, if the movie had done its job and entertained me. Instead, I spent the whole time waiting in vain for something better to come along in the next scene.

It’s a shame, as Joshua had potential to be better. From the very start it effectively creates a sense of unease and apprehension, which it carries well throughout – it just never amounts to anything. Also, commendably, it never descends into gore and blood territory, preferring to keep all the thrills (the few that were there) psychological.