It's subtle and it's terrific.
Comment
07/19/07
Joshua (2007)
62
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:95
Fresh:59
Rotten:36
Average Rating:6.3/10
Consensus: Though Joshua is ultimately too formulaic, its intelligence and suspenseful buildup heighten the overall creep factor.
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Synopsis: Brad (Sam Rockwell) and Abby Cairn (Vera Farmiga) seem to have it all. A successful Manhattan couple living in a plush uptown apartment, they have just welcomed their second child into the... [More]
Starring: Jacob Kogan, Sam Rockwell, Vera Farmiga, Celia Weston
Director: George Ratliff
Reviews for Joshua
The contrived script expects us to believe that Joshua's fainting spells, his nocturnal home videos of his sleeping family and his acts of violence on crowded New York City streets fail to raise suspicion until it is too late.
07/19/07
Watch this movie on a night when you don't think you need birth control.
07/18/07
There's a definite "Bad Seed" vibe going on in this sophisticated psychological thriller that unfolds with such precision you'll want to see it a second time just to catch its many degrees of nuanced escalation.
07/17/07
I'm reluctant to give away too much about this terrifically tidy thriller as I think an audience should be able to watch a film without knowing the twists and surprises that the filmmakers intend.
07/14/07
A trippy film that falls somewhere between tired genre picture, hilarious satire and ingenious game of cat-and-mouse.
07/14/07
A haunting and evocative motion picture that stays with you.
07/14/07
Subtle and sinister - it's evil, yes, but not very scary.
07/13/07
Director George Ratliff has crafted a pretty intelligent film that exploits that conceit without going to the over-the-top extremes as such other bad-seed films as "The Good Son" and, well, "The Bad Seed."
07/13/07
Ratliff's movie almost succeeds in hurtling over the trenches it digs for itself in an increasingly ludicrous third act. But not quite.
07/13/07
Fairly absorbing film.
07/13/07
Spooky, relatively realistic, grounded in psychology rather than displays of gore, it could be just the thing to rejuvenate the fading horror genre.
07/13/07
Sickeningly creepy.
07/13/07
If you've never wanted to punch a child in the face, see Joshua and discover a whole new side of yourself.
07/13/07
A darkly comic, squirm-inducing portrait of everyday familial dysfunction amplified by an unusual element.
07/13/07
Fails miserably.
07/13/07
A fascinating, if chilling, break from the season's usual summer movie thrills -- especially for parents-to-be.
07/13/07
Writer-director George Ratliff may have intended to make a movie no one would enjoy. He's succeeded.
07/13/07
An unnerving thriller that has a lot more on its maniacal mind than giving us the willies.
07/13/07
At once familiar and yet startlingly inventive and thrilling.
07/13/07
Latest News for Joshua
July 16, 2007:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Pottermania Strikes with $330M Global Bow
Hogwarts fans flexed their muscles at the North American box office showing up in droves once again for the extended opening weekend of "Harry Potter and the Order of the... More...
July 08, 2007:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: "Transformers" Stomps on Foes To Capture #1 Spot With $152.5M Opening
Optimus Prime and his robot heroes seized the number one spot at the North American box office with an explosive opening for "Transformers" over the extended... More...
July 05, 2007:
Critical Consensus: "License" is Revoked, "Transformers" About as Much as Meets the Eye
This week at the movies we have disrupted nuptials ("License to Wed," starring John Krasinski and Mandy Moore) and metamorphisizing robots ("Transformers,"... More...
May 27, 2007:
Trailer & Poster review 
More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
RT on YouTube
Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.
RT on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.
IGN RSS Feeds