Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.

Those of you with small children will either adore or completely reject this thoroughly freaky little thriller starring two of our greatest actors and one new young actor who blows everyone out of the water his hard-to-read delivery that unnerved me to the core. The premise of Joshua is not that the title character is evil; it's that he might be. Newcomer Jacob Kogan plays him as a kid who is hyper-observational by nature. His youngish, upper-West Side Manhattan parents (Sam Rockwell as Brad and Vera Farmiga as Abby) are slightly clueless about the depths of Joshua's intelligence or his ability is scheme. As the parents introduce have their second child into the family dynamic, it's clear that Joshua is attempt to deconstruct the new arrangement and how to cope with it. Director/co-writer George Ratliff (director of the awesome documentary Hell House) asks a lot of tough questions. Should a child's intelligence frighten an adult? Can a well-raised child become a sociopath at an early age? When does paranoia become fact? Are these suspicions about Joshua all in the heads of the parents or is this kid just plain bad? So my question to you is, are you willing to accept a kind of horror film in which the villain is a nine year old, who is no possessed and appears peaceful and content at all times?

Farmiga's Abby has had issues with post-partum psychosis before, so her suspicions about Joshua's intentions toward the new baby are at first dismissed as the condition returning. Her brother (Dallas Roberts) dotes on Joshua and encourages his talents as a piano protégé, so Joshua clings to him because he doesn't suspect the child is up to no good. Farmiga does what she's done well many times before: she has a complete and slow meltdown on camera, and it hurts to watch her loose her mind. With her trendy, pixie-ish haircut and great clothes, she's the model of a great mom. She doesn't treat her kids like accessories, but that doesn't stop her from suspecting Joshua of wrongdoing. Counter to practically every role I've ever seen him in, Rockwell is the film's calming force. Trying to balance his busy work schedule (his boss played by Michael McKean is constantly checking up on his progress) and his wife's declining mental condition, he doesn't see what Abby does until he takes time off to spend more time at home.

If our worst fears about Joshua are true, his ability to manipulate adults (including social workers, police, and therapists) and falsify drawings and stories to support claims against his parents is uncanny but still highly believable. Ratliff and co-writer David Gilbert has structured a screenplay that could have easily gone overboard with Joshua's evilness, but never quite does. They opt instead to keep things based in reality and always leave the option open that Joshua has done nothing wrong (even thought it's more fun to think he has). Does Joshua want his new sibling dead, or does he want to reconstruct his family to one that seems more suited to the kind of upbringing he thinks he might like? Either prospect is mind blowing.

The powerhouse acting in Joshua is the main reason to get your asses into the theater and see it, but the layered and well-thought-out story structure is the reason to stay. This is a gripping piece that reminded me a whole lot in tone and look to Rosemary's Baby, another untraditional horror film that still found many ways to get my heart racing. To those of you who actually love your kids, well, I don't think Joshua is going to change that much. You might just look at them with a bit more suspicion for a while. This is a movie that actually has the guts to tell this wildly unconventional story, and do so in a highly effective and entertaining voice. You may end up liking it, even if you have to adjust your way of thinking for a short time to do so. It opens today at the Landmark Century Center Cinema.

Capone