Emelie

Emelie (2015)

Runtime: 82 minutes

Directed by: Michael Thelin

Starring: Sarah Bolger, Joshua Rush, Carly Adams, Thomas Bair, Susan Pourfar, Chris Beetem

From: Dark Sky Films

I can't in this all-ages forum disclose what was referred to as “a China hole.”

This is one of those movies that I've known of for quite a while mainly due to it being on Netflix for years. Finally, (Sunday) night I took the plunge and while the front half was better than the back half and it is unsure whether I was supposed to guffaw a few times during the final act, overall it was a good time, despite the serious subject matter.

A young lady named Emilie and a partner kidnap a teen named Anna-this is the opening scene so it's not so much a spoiler-so she could impersonate Anna as she babysits a trio of pre-teen children. I'll just say that at times those children reminded me of my nephews, even including the bratty moments. At first “Anna” seems normal and in fact lets the kids have a lot of freedom but her behavior becomes increasingly disturbing and erratic... then she reveals why she is so mentally disturbed & what her endgame is-”real life horror” is the term I'll use. As many others have stated, perhaps the explanation for her behavior shouldn't have been delivered until much later, in a different fashion or perhaps even not at all.

Admittedly preposterous at times, this was effective at being creepy due to all those things happening to children, not to mention Emelie's psychotic behavior. A big asset is that all three child performances were at least fine; a bad one would have done irreparable harm. However, it was Sarah Bolger as the title girl who was the best aspect as she was great in the role. With the caveat that it does not end as strongly as it began, it's at least a movie which wastes no time, is less than 90 minutes & has a few moments I'll never forget.