Review of Joshua (2002) by Paul D — 19 Jan 2008

Very creepy. This is not some supernatural horror story, just the story of a family who breaks down under the stress of life. The kid was chilling. The parents self-absorbed. The grandmother was a stereotype of a Christian (makes me think the writers/director don't actually know many Christians) and an easy target. If you're looking for a movie to make you think about how you handle simply stressful times in life, while it totally creeps you out, this is the one.

I'd never heard of this movie and just happened across it in the movie store. I'm kind of surprised it isn't more well known. It is better than much of the other drivel that masks as "creepy movies" out there.

As a side note, since I love to dig at the religious undertones of a movie, especially when there are sometimes unintended themes which come out... I found it fascinating that the "I'll let my kids decide their religion for themselves when they are old enough" train of the move to be very revealing. The parents are only nominally religious, so when Joshua's grandmother cracks the door to possible religious connection that would be more than that, they shut her down. Emphatically. I doubt that Joshua's interest was sincere, but he spends the movie testing to see who really loves him. Given the kids in our culture today with little regard for the consequences of their actions- the ones who can do violent acts feeling no remorse, it is telling that the absence of meaningful faith in his family is one of the characteristics which might lead Joshuas IRL to become the violent people they can become.