There’s a saying: Face your demons. But what are demons, really, if not fears in disguise? Put simply: Face your deepest terrors. Confront your phobias. So what happens when you do? One: You might surrender. Succumb to fear, anxiety, and suffering — and in the worst cases, spiral into suicide or violence, as history has shown time and again. Two: You harness those fears, stare them down, and erase the horror rooted deep in your mind. In short: fear only ends when it’s eliminated.
One thing is clear — indifference is never an option.
Next up in Heti Mocsok’s film picks: Case 39 — a 2009 thriller directed by Christian Alvart.
Renée Zellweger leads as Emily Jenkins, a kind-hearted social worker, in a performance that holds its ground. At first glance, Emily seems to be handling a routine child protection case: a wide-eyed girl named Lilith Sullivan (Jodelle Ferland) is being severely abused by her parents. But the story quickly spirals into a dark, mystic thriller — one that captures exactly what happens when we give fear a foothold.
How far the human mind can unravel when terror is allowed to grow.— Surely, we’ve all been there: when fear freezes both body and mind… or flips a switch, triggering something extreme. —
Lilith’s parents, Edward and Margaret Sullivan — played by Callum Keith Rennie and Kerry O’Malley — deliver hauntingly believable performances. They channel raw, visceral emotion with unsettling precision. Madness flickers in their eyes at just the right moments. Their movements are impulsive, fanatical — perfectly capturing obsession in its purest, most disturbing form. The film’s sharp editing and atmospheric cinematography only amplify this intensity.
As the plot unfolds, Lilith’s true nature slowly comes into focus — most chillingly in her eerie session with Doug (Bradley Cooper), the psychologist. These are the coldest, most unnerving moments of the film.
The tension builds steadily, but the film doesn’t trap the viewer in a fog of fear until the final frame — a mistake often made in flashy, shock-driven thrillers. Here, the approach is different. The weight of the story lies elsewhere. The real question waits just beneath the surface.
Watch it — and ask yourself:
What do you do when terror sinks its claws into your windpipe?
Do you surrender to paralysis — or does something primal erupt inside you?
Either way, one thing is certain: Psychology urges us to face our demons, learn their patterns — and shut them down.
But where is the edge of sanity?
