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YMMV / Case 39

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  • Alternate Character Interpretation: The Consensus in-universe is that Lily is a incarnate demon, but she makes some rather foolish mistakes for an ancient being, and seems to have a lot of childish desires. Is it possible the demon is possessing an actual little girl? Could she just be a powerful psychic playing on people's Religious Horror?
  • Complete Monster: Lilith "Lily" Sullivan is a demon in the form of a little girl. With the ability to force people to hallucinate their worst fear, Lily sadistically murders those around her for her own amusement. Tricking social worker Emily Jenkins into taking her under her custody, ostensibly to escape her Abusive Parents, Lily takes the opportunity to continue her reign of terror. She manipulates a boy named Diego into killing his parents, and murders her psychiatrist, Douglas. She then targets her incarcerated parents, making her mother hallucinate that she is being burned alive and causing her father to get stabbed in the eye. When a detective catches on to Lily's involvement in the deaths, she tricks him into shooting himself. After Emily makes a failed attempt to kill her, Lily forces her to hallucinate a childhood memory of her mother driving fast in a rainstorm. Upon her defeat, Lily attempts to drag Emily with her to her death.
  • Jerkass Woobie: Lilith's parents, when we learn what Lilith really is. Attempting to kill a child the way they did is not OK, but as it turns out, they were driven to it for a damn good reason.
  • Narm:
    Emily: Open the door.
    Driver: [points to "Bus not in service" sign]
    Emily: Oh, PLEASE open the door! OPEN THE DOOR, SHE'S COOOOMMMMINGG!!!
    Driver: There's NOBODY out there!
  • Nightmare Fuel: The scene where Lily's parents attempt to burn her to death in the oven. That is, before we know her true nature. Even worse when it's later thrown back on it's head when Lillith's mother is forced to imagine herself burning in that same oven all day, every single day.
  • Nightmare Retardant: It's hard to take Lilith seriously when her demands are so childish (ice-cream everyday, amongst other things).
  • Squick: The hornet crawling out from under Doug's eye.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: The way the trailer put forward the movie (that a demon was after Lilith, and her parents planned to sacrifice her in order to save themselves) would have actually been a welcome change from the cookie-cutter "evil child" horror film.

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