MovieChat Forums > Case 39 (2010) Discussion > The little girl was the victim, not the ...

The little girl was the victim, not the villain

posted 9 years ago by blairbitchproject
21 replies | jump to latest

This movie makes no sense. All the little girl wanted was someone to care for her, and initially Emily seems a good fit. Then midway through the movie she begins growing suspicious of Lilith based on a few random occurrences so she turns on the girl? Just because of a few assumptions? How is she a social worker? There was no element of danger for Emily, Lilith just wanted her affection. It was too premature for her to begin hiding knives and bolting doors when Lilith never personally harmed Emily or was menacing towards her.

She basically neglected Lilith to the point where she began killing people just to get her attention...

[–] Danzence 9 years ago

Did the whole demon thing pass over your head?

[–] isolated_ions 9 years ago

So what if she was demon? I mean, Does that necessarily negate that it would want affection, and could possibly behave if someone overlooked its basic nature and loved it? I'm not ready to just throw in the towel.

Also, imagine all that you could learn from it! I would delve into what it knows about all sorts of things. That would be awesome.

[–] ffordegroupie 7 years ago

except, you know, randomly murdering people for no reason. wanting affection doesn't erase that.

also, you clearly don't know much about demons.

[–] isolated_ions 7 years ago

for no reason? the world turns without reason, and the wind blows without reason. they have causes, but reason? on the other hand, sentient beings are guided to purpose by reason. whether those reasons follow some sort of comprehensible trajectory from your moral or logical perspective, is another matter. maybe you're confusing the two?

what if wanting AND receiving unconditional affection precludes murderous instinct?

perhaps you're right in regard to "knowing much about demons". but what exactly is canon here, and what is not? is it ever explicitly known/established that the child is a DEMON? is there source material from which to draw this conclusion?

if yes, are you implying demons do not have free will? :P

[–] bootblack987 9 years ago

Did the whole demon thing pass over your head?

Was Lilith a demon? Or was Lilith a little girl possessed by a demon? If it was the latter, then Emily killed both the demon as well as the little girl. When we saw Emily go to the church mid-way through the movie, I thought she was going to meet with a priest to see about performing an exorcism.

[–] esoquisieras 8 years ago

At no moment in the movie Lilith showed signs of being possesed. That's the scary part. There was no inside conflict, no sudden change of personality, nothing. She was the same way all through the movie and she acted like a little girl to manipulate people. Demon or not, that thing was not a little girl. There was not little girl in this movie...

[–] jcgoodwin2 7 years ago

Or was Lilith a little girl possessed by a demon? If it was the latter. . .

It wasn't the latter. That's the point. It's the classic horror study of how dangerous it would be if a selfish, immature kid actually had a great deal of power over adults.

One example is the car scene:

"You have to do what I say. If I say I want to go to group, you have to do it. If I say I want a new dress, you have to do it. If I say I want ice cream, everyday after school, you have to do it. Okay?"

Yes, there were times when I was touched by their bond, and moments when I sympathized with Lily's desire for love. The problem was that she couldn't refrain from killing, so it wasn't possible for people to love her for very long.

[–] Jonny-ironica 9 years ago

Yeah and all Michael Myers wanted was a hug from Laurie Strode.

[–] FetzerZinfandel 8 years ago

Best reply ever.

I wish my lawn was emo so it would cut itself 

[–] crissttigaldames 8 years ago

TBH, I also kinda felt sorry for her. She actually seemed to mean no harm to Emily. She also said she was afraid of herself at times, would she have been lying?.

Emily's change towards her did seem way too sudden and unjustified.

[–] HarveyManfredSinJohn 8 years ago

Did you feel sorry for her when she persuaded Diego to murder his family and therefore be placed in an institution for the rest of his life? Or when she caused hornets to emerge from Bradley Cooper's body? What about when she murdered the cop who had saved her life earlier on in the film? 

RIP:
David Bowie (1947-2016)
Alan Rickman (1946-2016)
Prince (Rogers Nelson) (1958-2016)

[–] ffordegroupie 7 years ago

but she only wanted LOVE! she's the real victim here! killing those other people doesn't really matter, she's really good.

[–] psdhart 7 years ago

Yeah and all Michael Myers wanted was a hug from Laurie Strode.



[–] Dark_Firework 9 years ago

She was nice to Emily, but she was still killing people before Emily suspected. It's not like Emily is going to be like "lol of course you can have ice cream!" if everybody she knows is going to die just because Lilith doesn't like them.

It probably was too premature to start hiding everyone like she did, but I would definitely hide the phones like she did.

Shut up and dance with me

[–] Daenerys-Stormborn 9 years ago

Agreed. I felt sorry for her throughout. I think she meant her no harm, she just wanted to be loved and taken care of. Is that too much to ask? She is supernatural...what of it? She used her powers to get her foster mother's attention so she can feel right at home. Emily is the true evil over here...she shouldn't have done that.

A single day of freedom is worth more than a lifetime in chains ~ Grey Worm, Commander

[–] esoquisieras 8 years ago

Wow, people are stupid. She killed people, she was evil. She asked Emily to love her but she murdered people just for fun. Listen again to her phone call to Diego right at the beginning. She had some much fun making him kill his parents.

I mean, it's so obvious that I'm not sure why I have to be explaining it. Again some people are so dumb...

[–] andromache3 8 years ago

I find it amusing that people think demons are being poorly misrepresented in film. Poor Lilith! She just wanted to be loved! No she didn't. She was a demon and they thrive on grief, misery and despair. Demons are not good at all. They're minions of the devil, fallen angels, so yeah, they're evil. Get over it, people.

"You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you." Mr Darcy

[–] ffordegroupie 7 years ago

yes, she meant no harm. murdering a man with hornets? forcing a boy to murder his entire family? killing people who are no longer a threat to her? that's not evil. trying to stop a superpowered murderer? THAT is evil.

[–] trombleykyle 9 years ago

She wasn't A human at all. The original family that gave birth to her, said as soon as she was born, their whole family outside of them freakishly died. You really can't call someone who kills for no reason, A victim. That's just like saying the Chucky doll deserved to live, because he was nice to Andy at first... She don't actually want affection. The little girls really just trying to manipulate people that can help her the most. When that runs it's course, she wants nothing more of them

[–] Mehki_Girl 8 years ago

The deleted scenes give more details about her growing suspicions and so they do not look so random. The way they cut the film it makes it look like she made a big leap on no basis. Editing was poor. Additional scenes give build up. Watch the deleted scenes.

[–] smokescreensemerge-538-372043 7 years ago

The problem to accepting a role like this is that there are some psychotic people out there that will take it upon themselves to gut you alive if they ever see you. Lina Blair had some run ins with a couple of them after her Exorcist role.