Joshua (2007) 4/10

Joshua is a dark indie chiller released in limited art house theatres last year, and there's a good reason this wasn't widely seen.

Joshua is about a dysfunctional rich family in NYC that gives birth to a new baby little girl. But their son Joshua is jealous of the girl. Omen-esque creepy kid events follow.

Here's the thing. The film tries to keep the audience somewhat confused as to whether or not Joshua is actually a bad kid doing terrible things or if its possibly the mother or possibly the father. The problem is too much is revealed too soon and the audience already knows that Joshua is the culprit. So instead of being left in the dark along with the father (who ends up being the main character eventually), we know too much. Because of this most of the tension is out of the film before it really gets going. The audience then is just watching as events unfold, knowing exactly who the culprit is though not really knowing why, and not really caring.

The mother has severe post partum depression ,making her a monster, so honestly we don't really care how she gets messed with. The film is also highly anti-religious which also leaves a bad taste in this reviewers mouth. Leave your personal beliefs at home thank you, unless the film is specifically examining religion. Otherwise it comes off as a cheap shot and unnecessary to the plot. Filler is a good word for it.

In the end I just really didn't care about the characters or their motivations. A lackluster film with lots of potential that gets destroyed by a poorly structured script. Remember kids, leave your audience in the dark along with one main character and they will be much more interested and invested in that character. If we know too much, we care too little.

Overall - 4/10