There are quite a few different aspects that writers love to include in their drafts for horror films. It goes beyond undead and serial killers or even mutated beasts plaguing unsuspecting citizens, but the idea of a child being the center of terror is unsettling for quite a few people. From The Omen to The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby and It’s Alive, the idea of children being the source of evil sends chills up the spines of some. Yet another youth is preparing to unleash fear upon the unsuspecting.

Joshua is the latest horror/thriller to use a child as the focal point, though the film is more of a thriller than anything else. Joshua Cairn (Jacob Kogan) is an exceptionally gifted nine-year-old who excels at piano, school and just about everything else. His parents Brad (Sam Rockwell) and Abby (Vera Farmiga) have just brought home a new baby as well, but Joshua doesn’t seem to be envious or jealous in the least, or is he? The baby seems to continuously cry for no reason and Abby is eventually pushed to her breaking point and is hospitalized. As the pieces begin to fall into place, Brad realizes that Joshua is up to something, but he’s not sure exactly what.

The problem with the “creepy little kid’ aspect is that is has been done to death recently, though you can’t necessarily blame Hollywood for the trend. Asian horror film, those from Korea in particular, all seem to have child involvement in some way as seen with movies like A Tale of Two Sisters, Phone, Ju-on and the list just goes on from there. Things aren’t quite like they were a few decades ago when the terrifying youngster was seen periodically, but even so, Kogan is certainly one of the best and most talented young actors to take on the role of the diabolic child in quite some time.

The thing about Joshua is that the audience knows that he’s up to something, and whatever it is, it’s no good. There is evidence that comes to light that for all intents and purposes would be leading Joshua happily along the path of becoming a serial killer in the near future, but even so, we actually never see him perform any act of violence on screen. You might think that he did it, but did he really, or does it just seem like he did? There are moments however where Joshua is definitely the culprit, but with everything combined, it can be more interesting to try and determine in your mind what the real source of the mishaps seen in the film are; Joshua or simply some other product.

Because of the approach of the movie, it becomes clear why Joshua should be labeled as being more of a thriller. He isn’t the son of Satan born upon the Earth, not possessed by some dark force that can be driven out with religion, and he’s not the result of a laboratory experiment. He’s merely a child who is trying to control his present situation, and Joshua is also a very precocious boy. He becomes somewhat obsessed with Egyptology and the burial rites associated with the culture, and though it seems to be nothing more than a present fascination, it does lead to a few darker moments in the film, but never too dark in my opinion. Joshua is quite calculating as well and has a master plan that takes even his father a while to realize, but by the time he does, it’s far too late.

Joshua in and of itself is rather enjoyable and quite easily to get caught within its web, but it’s not a movie that is going to be just the thing to suddenly see a huge resurgence of horror and thrillers where the real enemy is the one that just graduated from wearing diapers. What could have been a fairly decent thriller however is marred by a rather lackluster ending that, while the clues add up, just isn’t satisfying.

The DVD does come with a number of bonus features beginning with commentary from director George Ratliff and writer David Gilbert. There are also deleted scenes and an interview with Dave Matthews as he contributed the ending song for the film. There are cast and crew interviews, and Kogan really seems to have a good head on his shoulders as you’ll find. His audition tapes are included here as well and the disc concludes with a look at the Internet campaign for the film as well as the theatrical trailer.

Joshua isn’t necessarily a bad film but by no means is it extraordinary. If nothing else I would recommend seeing it simply due to Kogan’s performance which is almost like a darker version of Haley Joel Osment’s character in The Sixth Sense. Joshua won’t win over horror fans, it won’t bring back memories of The Omen, but it is a fairly decent thriller where the child truly is the star attraction.
 

-mike-