Watch Joshua For Free

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Fresh and Exciting

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

I'd been waiting a while to watch Joshua, and finally got around to it last night, and while it wasn't quite what I expected, I really enjoyed it. I should mention first and fore-most, 'Joshua' is not a horror film or a thriller in the conventional sense, but rather a darkly comic drama, though it certainly borrows from the aforementioned genres. I just want to put that out there so people expecting a film along the lines of 'The Omen' won't be surprised.The film basically follows the story of two parents, their nine year old son 'Joshua' after the birth of his sister. Joshua is a child prodigy, and as the story goes along, he embarks on a devious agenda to pick off his family members one by one. This doesn't necessarily mean kill them (though it doesn't exclude murder). He shows all the signs of a budding sociopath. The gerbils in his class all died from a mysterious 'fungal disease' explains his teacher at one point, and his pet dies, after Joshua takes him for a walk. His mother is the first to make the connection, and then his father. Eventually, Joshua and his father become adversaries, the father trying to figure a way to save his family from his son, and Joshua, plotting the disintegration of what remains of his family unit.While it definitely borrows some horror and thriller conventions, the overall tone is more kin with the dark comedy found in '6 Feet Under'. I went into this expecting something totally different, but it was a pleasant change of pace for someone who watches constant horror movies as well as psychological thrillers. While it caught me off guard, I wouldn't have it any other way, and I highly recommend 'Joshua'.

Obviously, this film was made with some other in mind. The homage it represents for films where kids played a key role in their unsettling plot is, to say the least, outstanding. You'll find out how deeply involved with "Rosemary's Baby" it is. Or with "The Omen". I won't spill the beans here. You have to watch it. It's a horrific tale. Not a horror film with all the usual gore some want to associate the genre with. This film is horrifying in many senses. And when a film really grabs you, making you think about some personal possibilities, it has accomplished it's goal.Joshua is a film dealing with so many things it won't disappoint. Crude, raw and cruel, but really telling. Good remake and mix of great horror films, and a new species on its own.Performances are pretty good. Vera Farmiga is surprisingly good, as Sam Rockwell is, too. Jacob Kogan, apart from being a very good piano player, is a believable and fearsome Joshua.Pinpoint cinematography, good plot and a very suitable script that keeps the story rolling in ways you could expect and in some others you wouldn't.I can't believe why some people walked out theatres! There's a catch with this film for American viewers: it's eons away from American traditional movie-making. This film resembles the character exploration of Swedish and French films. So, don't expect a fast paced- spectacular glossy film. It will be a slooooow film for people who just want to have some time off with a popcorn film.

i had never even heard of this film until after i had seen Orphan.some of the reviews for that film and the message board had recommended this film.some had suggested it was a superior film.so i decided to give it a shot.i'm not sure i would call it a superior film.it has some similarities to Orphan for sure.however,i found it much more deliberately paced than Orphan was.Vera Farmiga(who played the Mother in Orphan)plays the Mother here and is a revelation.and Sam Rockwell is very good as the father slowly unravelling at the seams.Joshua(Jacob Kogan)is certainly an evil seed,there's no doubt about that.but i just didn't quite feel the same intensity as i did with Orphan.don't get me wrong.this is still a good movie.for me,Joshua is an 7/10

Admittedly, I didn't watch the whole movie. I wanted to like it but it was so poor I had to turn it off. The direction is very weak and the music is entirely inappropriate. The characters appear to have been purchased as a job-lot from StereotypesRUs and the script comes across as contrived and unnatural. The opening title sequence has really annoying music and you can't wait for it to be over. When it finally ends it feels like you stopped having your thumb hit by a hammer, but then you get Scene One. This is the most artificial first scene ever put on a screen. A domestic portrait of a family with the mother and baby, the grandparents, the uncle and the sibling at the piano, the father with the video camera. Everyone conspicuously 'acting' out the family portrait. The piano playing in the background re-inflames the nerve that the opening music had antagonized, and continues to do so. After what seems like an aeon the mother tells the kid to stop playing the piano. After this it starts again and if you don't switch it off at this point in utter fury then you're thicker skinned than I am. What an annoying load of amateur garbage. The rest of the movie may have had some redeeming features but I'll never find out because the first fifteen minutes is like having your eyes, eardrums and brain sandpapered.