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Movies like Joshua

Key Features:
Troubled youth, Family drama, Sibling rivalry, Psychological thriller, Dysfunctional family, Manipulation, Jealousy, Loss of innocence, Southern Gothic
Tone:
serious, restrained, dramatic
Target Audience:
Thriller fans, Psychological drama enthusiasts, Viewers interested in family dynamics, Fans of dark and unsettling stories
Emotional Arc:
['Intrigue → Dread']

Joshua

2007-01-21
Joshua Poster - Find Similar Movies

The arrival of a newborn girl causes the gradual disintegration of the Cairn family; particularly for 9-year-old Joshua, an eccentric boy whose proper upbringing and refined tastes both take a sinister turn.

Genres
Drama, Thriller, Horror
Cast
Sam Rockwell, Vera Farmiga, Jacob Kogan, Celia Weston, Dallas Roberts, Michael McKean, Randy Ryan, Nancy Giles, Linda Larkin, Alex Draper
Crew
George Ratliff, David Gilbert, George Ratliff
Rating
5.641(277 votes)
JoshuaJoshua
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Orphan
Orphan(2009)
7

After losing their baby, a married couple adopt 9-year old Esther, who may not be as innocent as she seems.



Mikey
Mikey(1992)
5.845

Mikey just needs a good stable home. He's bounced from foster home to foster home his whole life. He finally lands himself with a new loving family, but their perfect little child is not what he appears to be. His previous caretakers all died of mysterious "accidents" that weren't really accidents at all. Mikey is a cold blooded killer, and it doesn't take long for him to aim his sights on his new adoptive family and anyone else who stands in his way.



Danika
Danika(2006)
5.071

Traumatized since childhood by her brother's accidental death, Danika Merrick hallucinates a bank robbery and quits her job. Despite support from her three children and loving husband, Danika continues to experience unnerving visions. She seeks help from therapist Evelyn Harris but pervasive reports of violent incidents involving children make Danika fear for her own family, and she grows increasingly paranoid, worrying she may be going insane.



Mom and Dad
5.402

In a suburban community, moms and dads, one after the other, mysteriously feel the irresistible impulse to attack and kill their own offspring.



Hush
Hush(1998)
5.7

Jackson and Helen are in love and about to have their first child when they move in with Jackson's mother, Martha, in order to take care of the family estate. But all is not well in this household. Martha is jealous of her son's affection for Helen, and, despite her Southern smile, she's starting to act strangely. As Helen tries to create a happy home life, Martha attempts to divide the family so that Jackson will become hers alone.



Poltergeist
5.2

A family's suburban home is invaded by angry spirits. When the terrifying apparitions escalate their attacks and take the youngest daughter, the family must come together to rescue her.



The Glass House
6

When Ruby and Rhett's parents are killed in a car accident, their carefree teenage lives are suddenly shattered. Moving to an incredible house in Malibu with the Glasses', old friends of the family, seems to be the beginning of a new life for them.



Adulthood
Adulthood(2025)
6.017

The lives of two siblings are completely upended when they discover a dead body, long buried in their parent’s basement, sending them down a rabbit hole of crime and murder.



Alice, Sweet Alice
6.4

Alice is a withdrawn 12-year-old who lives with her mother and her younger sister, Karen, who gets most of the attention from her mother, leaving Alice out of the spotlight. When Karen is found brutally murdered in a church, suspicions start to turn toward Alice. But could a 12-year-old girl really be capable of such savagery?



First Born
5.4

A young couples lives are turned upside down when the birth of their first child is accompanied by terrifying entities that threaten their newly formed family.



Beast
Beast(2018)
6.538

A troubled woman living in an isolated community finds herself pulled between the control of her oppressive family and the allure of a secretive outsider suspected of a series of brutal murders.



First Born
5.103

Laura's expecting. Her husband, Steven's a loving guy but has little time for her. Her mom lives thousands of miles away. Forced to give up on her dreams, she's always been a bit edgy. A C-section drives her over the edge, making her see things in a different light. A creepy babysitter doesn't make things any better. She begins seeing things, trusts no one, as she goes into self-destruct mode.



Emelie
Emelie(2016)
5.256

After their regular babysitter cancels, the Thompson family turns to her friend, Anna to supervise their children while the parents go out to celebrate their anniversary. At first Anna seems like a dream come true to the kids, allowing them to eat extra cookies and play with things that are usually off-limits, but as her behaviour becomes increasingly odd, the kids soon find out that her intentions are dark and twisted—and she is not who she seems to be.



11/11/11
11/11/11(2011)
3.8

Jack and Melissa are frightened by their son's bizarre and violent behavior; they soon learn that he is the gateway to the Apocalypse, and it will happen on his birthday, 11-11-11.



Jonathan
Jonathan(2018)
5.871

Jonathan is a young man with a strange condition that only his brother understands. But when he begins to yearn for a different life, their unique bond becomes increasingly tested.



The Good Son
6.775

A young boy stays with his aunt and uncle, and befriends his cousin who's the same age. But his cousin begins showing increasing signs of psychotic behavior.



June
June(2015)
4

June is different from all other nine-year old girls. She is an orphan hiding a secret. Bad things happen when she gets upset, supernatural things. June has been in many foster homes usually leaving them destroyed. But this time it will be different. June has a new foster home and she really likes her new parents. She will have to face the force within her to protect her new parents and to save herself.



A Mother's Nightmare

A seductive teen becomes vindictive when her boyfriend tries to end the relationship.



The War
The War(1994)
6.6

The son of a Vietnam War Veteran must deal with neighborhood bullies as well as his dad's post-traumatic stress disorder while growing up in the deep south in the 1970's.



Wicked
Wicked(1998)
5.12

A cul-de-sac in an oppressive suburb becomes a literal dead end for wife and mother Karen Christianson when she is brutally murdered in her own home. In the wake of the event, Karen's teenage daughter Ellie begins to exhibit bizarre behaviors as she slowly acquires her mother's demeanor and mannerisms. Meanwhile, Karen's husband Ben nurtures a less-than-innocent interest in the family's sultry live-in nanny, Lena.



Darkness
Darkness(2002)
5.635

A teenage girl moves into a remote country home with her family, only to discover that the gloomy old house has a horrifying past that threatens to destroy them.



Fear
Fear(1996)
6.511

Nicole Walker always dreamed of being swept away by someone special — someone strong, sexy and sensitive who would care for her more than anything else in the world. David is all that and more: a modern-day knight who charms and seduces her, body and soul. But her perfect boyfriend is not all he seems to be. His sweet facade masks a savage, dark side that will soon transform Nicole's dream into a nightmare.



Firstborn
Firstborn(1984)
5.939

Because he's the oldest, Jake has been the man of the house, since his parents divorce. When Mom starts seeing Sam, who always seems to be trying some new way to get rich quick, and declares he's the man of the house now, Jake puts up with it. Until he discovers Sam's illegal activities.



Heretic
Heretic(2024)
6.973

Two young missionaries are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed, becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse.



The Boy
The Boy(2015)
5.7

An intimate portrait of a 9 year old sociopath as he discovers his taste for killing.



I See You
I See You(2019)
6.99

When a 10-year-old boy goes missing, lead investigator Greg Harper struggles to balance the pressure of the investigation and troubles with his wife, Jackie. Facing a recent affair, great strain is put on the family that slowly gnaws away at Jackie's grip on reality. But after a malicious presence manifests itself in their home and puts their son, Connor, in mortal danger, the cold, hard truth about evil in the Harper household is finally uncovered.



The Twin
The Twin(2017)
5.9

Jocelyn's boyfriend is perfect--except for his dangerous identical twin brother, Derek, who just escaped from a mental institution. When Derek unspools a twisted plan of revenge with Jocelyn in his crosshairs, her mother Ashley must act fast before she falls victim to a psychopath.



Isabelle
Isabelle(2019)
5.134

A young couple's dream of starting a family shatters as they descend into the depths of paranoia and must struggle to survive an evil presence that wants nothing more than their very own lives.



Fright
Fright(1971)
6

Young babysitter Amanda arrives at the Lloyd residence to spend the evening looking after their young son. Soon after the Lloyds leave, a series of frightening occurrences in the gloomy old house have Amanda's nerves on edge. The real terror begins, however, when the child's biological father appears after recently escaping from a nearby mental institution.



Daniel & Ana
6.734

Being kidnapped shatters a brother and sister's harmony, forcing them to confront their desires.



Little Sister
6.043

After returning to her childhood home, young nun Colleen finds her old room exactly how she left it: painted black and covered in goth and metal posters. Her parents are happy enough to see her, but her brother is living as a recluse in the guesthouse since returning home from the Iraq war.



Brothers
Brothers(2009)
7.3

When his helicopter goes down during his fourth tour of duty in Afghanistan, Marine Sam Cahill is presumed dead. Back home, brother Tommy steps in to look over Sam’s wife, Grace, and two children. Sam’s surprise homecoming triggers domestic mayhem.



Z
Z(2019)
6.6

A family find themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son's imaginary friend.



Sleepwalking
6

When her boyfriend is arrested for marijuana possession, Joleen Reedy and her 11-year-old daughter, Tara, take refuge with Joleen's aimless brother, James. Joleen soon runs off with a truck driver, and James is unable to meet his responsibilities. After Child Protective Services takes possession of Tara, James abducts her from a foster home, and the two travel from California to Utah, where his abusive father lives.



Marrowbone
7.3

A young man and his three younger siblings are plagued by a sinister presence in the sprawling manor in which they live.



Things Will Be Different

In order to escape the police after a robbery, two estranged siblings lay low in a metaphysical farmhouse that hides them away in a different time. There they reckon with a mysterious force that pushes their familial bonds to unnatural breaking points.



Weapons
Weapons(2025)
7.328

When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.



Undertow
Undertow(2004)
6.004

The Munns, father John and sons Chris and Tim, recede to the woods of rural Georgia. Their life together is forever changed with the arrival of Uncle Deel, though the tragedy that follows forces troubled Chris to become a man.



The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

A suburban family chooses seemingly sweet Peyton Flanders as their newborn's nanny. Only much later does the infant's mother, Claire Bartel, realize Peyton's true intentions -- to destroy Claire and replace her in the family. The nail-biting suspense builds quickly in this chilling psychological thriller about deception and bitter revenge.



Kin
Kin(2018)
6.109

A young boy finds a powerful otherworldly weapon, which he uses to save his older adoptive brother from a crew of thugs. Before long, the two of them are also pursued by federal agents and mysterious mercenaries aiming to reclaim their asset.



Sisters
Sisters(2006)
3.865

A reporter witnesses a brutal murder and becomes entangled in a mystery involving a pair of twins.



The Attic
The Attic(2006)
3.824

Emma has a strong aversion towards her family’s new house, especially the attic. After moving in, she becomes miserable and reclusive. The rest of her family also seems unhappy and unsettled. The situation escalates one day when Emma is in the attic alone. All of a sudden someone who looks exactly like Emma attacks her viciously.



Parents
Parents(1989)
5.88

Michael is a young boy living in a typical 1950s suburbanite home... except for his bizarre and horrific nightmares, and continued unease around his parents. Young Michael begins to suspect his parents are cooking more than just hamburgers on the grill outside, but has trouble explaining his fears to his new-found friend Sheila, or the school's social worker.



Lights Out
6.365

Rebecca must unlock the terror behind her little brother's experiences that once tested her sanity, bringing her face to face with a supernatural spirit attached to their mother.



The Family
7.371

Anna happily lives with her husband, their two boys, and Simon, 6 years-old, who was placed with her by the Social Care services when he was only 18 months. When Simon’s father decides that he is ready to take his son back with him, the family’s balance is at stake. Anna is torn apart: how could she possibly let go a of child who has always called her ‘Mom’?



Nocturne
Nocturne(2020)
5.86

Inside the halls of an elite arts academy, a timid music student begins to outshine her more accomplished and outgoing twin sister when she discovers a mysterious notebook belonging to a recently deceased classmate.



Be Afraid
Be Afraid(2017)
6

Not long after John Chambers and his family arrive at their new home in a small country town of Pennsylvania, John begins to experience sleep paralysis. Lying there paralyzed, trapped within his own nightmare, other-worldly beings visit John. They are entities which exist in the darkest shadows of the night and can only be seen out of the corner of one's eye. These encounters begin to haunt John, transforming to complete terror as he discovers the entities' sole purpose... the abduction of his seven year old son. In the end, John will uncover the town's horrific secret, a portal on his land, and make one last attempt to save his son before the shadow people permanently take him away to their world.



Mercy
Mercy(2016)
4.285

Brought together at their childhood home over their dying mother, an estranged family is thrust into a deadly fight for their own survival.



Beneath
Beneath(2007)
5.381

Christy returns to her hometown years after a car accident that disfigured her older sister. Haunted by the accident in which she was the driver, she learns that her worst nightmares have either come true ... or are about to.



Son
Son(2021)
6.009

When a young boy contracts a mysterious illness, his mother must decide how far she will go to protect him from terrifying forces in her past.



Poltergeist
7.153

The Freelings' suburban home becomes the center of paranormal activity that opens a portal to the 'other side'. With help, they must cross over to get their daughter back.



Brother and Sister
4.844

Alice and Louis are brother and sister. She is an actress; he was a teacher and poet. For more than 20 years, Alice has hated her brother. In all this time they haven’t seen one another. The death of their parents brings the siblings face to face.



Sisters
Sisters(1973)
6.7

Inquisitive journalist Grace Collier is horrified when she witnesses her neighbor, fashion model Danielle Breton, violently murder a man. Panicking, she calls the police. But when the detective arrives at the scene and finds nothing amiss, Grace is forced to take matters into her own hands. Her first move is to recruit private investigator Joseph Larch, who helps her to uncover a secret about Danielle's past that has them both seeing double.



Flowers in the Attic

After the sudden death of their father, four children face cruel treatment from their ruthless grandmother.



Armand
Armand(2024)
6.376

Armand, a 6-year-old boy, is accused of crossing boundaries against his best friend at elementary school. While no one knows what actually happened between the two boys, the incident triggers a series of events, forcing parents and school staff into a captivating battle of redemption where madness, desire and obsession arise.



Marionette
6.3

A therapist loses her grip on reality when a ten-year-old boy claims he can control her future.



Ken Park
Ken Park(2003)
6.012

Ken Park focuses on several teenagers and their tormented home lives. Shawn seems to be the most conventional. Tate is brimming with psychotic rage; Claude is habitually harassed by his brutish father and coddled, rather uncomfortably, by his enormously pregnant mother. Peaches looks after her devoutly religious father, but yearns for freedom. They're all rather tight, or so they claim.



The Babysitter's Seduction

The mother of the family for which Michelle baby-sits dies unexpectedly. Michelle is asked to take over looking after the children and is gradually "seduced" by the father.



Intruders
Intruders(2011)
5.5

Though no one can see him, Hollow Face lurks in the corners, desperately desiring love but only knowing how to spread fear and hate. He creeps into the life of John Farrow after Farrow’s beloved 13-year-old daughter Mia is assaulted in their home. The line between the real and the imaginary blurs as fissures start to open within the family unit. It seems that no security measure can keep Hollow Face out.



John and the Hole
5.3

While exploring the neighboring woods, 13-year-old John discovers an unfinished bunker — a deep hole in the ground. Seemingly without provocation, he drugs his affluent parents and older sister and drags their unconscious bodies into the bunker, where he holds them captive. As they anxiously wait for John to free them from the hole, the boy returns home, where he can finally do what he wants.



Dreamkatcher
5.1

Gail is forced to come to terms with Josh, her new stepson, at a remote country home. After stealing an evil talisman from a mysterious neighbor, Josh has sinister dreams of his dead mother, who commands Josh to murder Gail. When Josh's dad returns, he and Gail suspect that their son has been possessed by an ancient, bloodthirsty spirit. Is it too late to save Josh's life — or their own?



The Guardian
5.6

Phil and Kate select the winsome young Camilla as a live-in nanny for their newborn child, but the seemingly lovely Camilla is not what she appears to be...



Hypnotic
Hypnotic(2023)
6.206

A detective becomes entangled in a mystery involving his missing daughter and a secret government program while investigating a string of reality-bending crimes.



Anna
Anna(2013)
6.5

A man with the ability to enter peoples' memories takes on the case of a brilliant, troubled sixteen-year-old girl to determine whether she is a sociopath or a victim of trauma.



M3GAN
M3GAN(2022)
7.048

A brilliant toy company roboticist uses artificial intelligence to develop M3GAN, a life-like doll programmed to emotionally bond with her newly orphaned niece. But when the doll's programming works too well, she becomes overprotective of her new friend with terrifying results.



Keep Watching
5.031

A family imprisoned by intruders is forced to play a terrifying game of "Kill, Or Be Killed". As the night unfolds, the game's mysterious rules become clear, and the family realizes their nightmare is being streamed live to riveted viewers all over the world, who are compelled to KEEP WATCHING... not knowing if what they're seeing is real, or staged.



Prodigy
Prodigy(2017)
6.106

Jimmy is a committed child psychologist who uses his own playbook, but when he is brought in to work with Ellie, he is completely unprepared for his subject—a 9-year-old psychopathic genius with nothing to lose. As he begins to understand the extent of her capabilities and the fate that has been planned for her, he struggles to overcome her defenses before it is too late for them both.



The Baby's Room
6.718

Juan and Sonia arrive at a large old house, an ideal place to raise their newborn son. When, one night before going to bed, they check the operation of the monitoring device installed in the baby's room, they discover that someone is sitting next to the crib.



Torment
Torment(2013)
4.724

Newlyweds Cory and Sarah Morgan take Cory's 7-year-old son Liam up to the country for some much needed family time. When it appears as if Liam has run away, psychological suspense becomes straight-out horror, as Sarah and Cory must now confront a sadistic cult-like family who have been hiding in the house all along and have taken Liam for themselves.



The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

Suburban couple Caitlin and Miguel hire seemingly sweet Polly to take care of their newborn baby. But Polly's true motives have little to do with singing lullabies...



Family
Family(2018)
6.5

Kate Stone is career-focused with a brash attitude that keeps relationships at an arm's length. When her estranged brother calls asking her to baby-sit her tween niece Maddie, Kate reluctantly agrees to help. But baby-sitting overnight unexpectedly turns into a week, and Kate's life spins into chaos. As Maddie reveals stories of being bullied and of wanting to run away and be a Juggalo, the two form a unique bond.



No Good Deed
5.936

Terri is a devoted wife and mother of two, living an ideal suburban life in Atlanta when Colin, a charming but dangerous escaped convict, shows up at her door claiming car trouble. Terri offers her phone to help him but soon learns that no good deed goes unpunished as she finds herself fighting for survival when he invades her home and terrorizes her family.



Sweetie
Sweetie(1989)
6.005

The buttoned-down, superstitious Kay is attempting to lead a normal existence with her new boyfriend Louis. That’s until Sweetie, her rampaging, devil-may-care sister, returns home after an absence, exposing the rotten roots of their family and placing a strain on Kay and Louis’ relationship.



Welcome the Stranger
5.104

Alice arrives unannounced at her estranged brother Ethan's house in an attempt to reconcile, but bizarre visions, the return of his strange girlfriend and Alice's paranoia and suspicion force the siblings to cling onto reality amidst mysterious circumstances.



Straw Dogs
5.917

A young couple moves to a quaint southern town. Soon their perfect getaway turns out to become a living hell when dark secrets and lethal passions spiral out of control.



Veronica
Veronica(2017)
6.228

In 1991 Madrid, after holding a séance at school, a teen girl minding her younger siblings at home suspects an evil force has entered their apartment.



The Exorcism
5.003

A troubled actor begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film, leading his estranged daughter to wonder if he's slipping back into his past addictions or if there's something more sinister at play.



Martyrs Lane
6.1

Leah, 10, has terrible nightmares. Her mother seems distant somehow, lost in her thoughts. A small, nightly visitor brings Leah comfort, but soon Leah will realize that her little visitor offers knowledge that might be very, very dangerous.



The Front Room
5.066

Everything goes to hell for newly-pregnant Belinda after her mother-in-law moves in. As the diabolical guest tries to get her claws on the child, Belinda must draw the line somewhere.



Motherly
Motherly(2022)
6.132

Kate and her daughter Beth live alone in an isolated farmhouse in the woods, but when Kate slowly begins to suspect that something sinister is happening, her motherly instincts are put to the test.



#Horror
#Horror(2015)
3.557

Inspired by actual events, a group of 12 year old girls face a night of horror when the compulsive addiction of an online social media game turns a moment of cyber bullying into a night of insanity.



Bad Ronald
6.209

When awkward teen Ronald Wilby accidentally kills a young girl whose sister rejected his affections, his overbearing mother decides to hide him from the law by creating a concealed room in their home for him to live.



What Josiah Saw
5.84

A family with buried secrets reunite at a farmhouse after two decades to pay for their past sins.



Violation
Violation(2020)
5.45

A troubled woman on the edge of divorce returns home to her younger sister after years apart. But when her sister and brother-in-law betray her trust, she embarks on a vicious crusade of revenge.



Head Count
5.333

Newcomer Evan joins a group of teens on a getaway in Joshua Tree. While exchanging ghost stories around the campfire, Evan reads aloud a mysterious chant from an internet site. From that moment, someone--or something--is among them.



Virginia
Virginia(2010)
5.2

A sheriff sees his state senate bid slide out onto the ice when his daughter begins to date the son of a charming but psychologically disturbed woman with whom the sheriff has engaged in a two-decade-long affair.



Separation
5.692

A young girl finds solace in her artist father and the ghost of her dead mother.



Child of God
4.82

A dispossessed, violent man's life is a disastrous attempt to exist outside the social order. Successively deprived of parents and homes and with few other ties, he descends to the level of a cave dweller and falls deeper into crime and degradation.



Fractured
Fractured(2019)
6.748

Driving cross-country, Ray and his wife and daughter stop at a highway rest area where his daughter falls and breaks her arm. After a frantic rush to the hospital and a clash with the check-in nurse, Ray is finally able to get her to a doctor. While the wife and daughter go downstairs for an MRI, Ray, exhausted, passes out in a chair in the lobby. Upon waking up, they have no record or knowledge of Ray's family ever being checked in.



Let Me Make You a Martyr

A cerebral revenge film about two adopted siblings who fall in love, and hatch a plan to kill their abusive father.



Glass House: The Good Mother

One year after losing their son David, Eve Goode and her husband Raymond Goode adopt the orphan Ethan Snow (and his teenager sister Abby Snow and bring them to their mansion nearby a lake. Abby faces difficulties of adaptation in her new home, and she confronts Eve, who proves to be deranged and unstable. When Ethan gets sick, Abby tries to contact their friend, detective Ben Koch, and she realizes that her brother and she are trapped in the house.



Baby Ruby
Baby Ruby(2023)
5.152

After welcoming her baby, Ruby, home, the tightly scripted world of lifestyle influencer Jo starts to unravel. As increasingly sinister happenings mount, Jo is plunged into a waking fever dream where everyone is a threat and nothing is what it seems.



Faults
Faults(2014)
6.667

Claire is under the grip of a mysterious new cult called Faults. Desperate to be reunited with their daughter, Claire's parents recruit one of the world's foremost experts on mind control, Ansel Roth.



Leave the World Behind

A family's getaway to a luxurious rental home takes an ominous turn when a cyberattack knocks out their devices—and two strangers appear at their door.



Blood
Blood(2012)
5.851

When police discover a young girl brutally murdered, brothers Joe Fairburns and Chrissie Fairburns join their supervisor Robert to investigate main suspect Jason Buliegh, a local sex offender and social outcast. Forced to release Jason from police custody, the Fairburns take matters into their own hands in an attempt to coerce a confession.



mother!
mother!(2017)
6.966

A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.



Gracie's Choice
7.1

For as long as she can remember, 16 year-old Gracie has been raising her four siblings, each of whom has a different, absent father and their mother is on the fast track to self-destruction. When these children's lives are about to be pulled apart, Gracie will have to do the impossible and make the ultimate sacrifices to keep her family together.



They
They(2002)
5

A psychology student who experienced night terrors as a child must face the chilling realization that her nightmares were not all in her head.



Flesh & Blood
6.9

Kimberly, a teenager suffering from agoraphobia, has not left the house since her mother's unsolved murder. On the eve of Thanksgiving, she begins to suspect that the safe harbor of home and her doting father may be a dangerous mirage.

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