User Reviews

Well at least the trailer was scary, from the moment I saw the trailer for The Unborn I knew I wanted to see this movie, it looked so freaky and like the ultimate scare. So before it left theaters, I finally saw it and I should've realized, it's PG-13, how rare is it that we get a PG-13 horror movie that is actually scary? Sadly all the "intense" moments were shown in the trailer and I was extremely disappointed with this lousy movie. I couldn't believe how bad it was, it once again has every cliché in a horror film that you can imagine: the black best friend, the loving boyfriend, the hot skinny girl who is constantly in her underwear, the jumps, the mirrors, the nightmares, the over acting. I do have one question: did Gary Oldman owe someone a favor when he took this film? It's just mind-boggling, he's this terrific actor and he was in this really predictable stupid story? Well, hopefully he'll recover soon from this sad excuse for a horror film.

Casey Beldon is plagued by merciless dreams, visions of strange looking dogs, and an evil child with bright blue eyes. Casey is baby-sitting Matty, her neighbor's son. He is upstairs, supposedly taking a nap. Casey is downstairs talking on the phone to her best friend Romey. Suddenly, there is a voice that says "Jumby wants to be born now," on the baby monitor used for Matty's baby sister. After yelling, "Matty, are you awake?" Casey goes upstairs to check on them. Matty was standing over the baby's crib, holding a mirror to the baby's face. After being hit with the mirror, Casey's eyes begin to change color and she learns she had a twin brother who died in the womb. Casey begins to suspect that the spirit haunting her is the soul of her dead twin, being possessed by a dybbuk, wanting to be born so it can transfer to the world of the living. Casey meets a woman named Sofi, who is revealed to be her grandmother. Sofi explains that she had a twin brother who was killed in Nazi experiments in Auschwitz when they were both just children. The boy was brought back to life by a dybbuk who intended to use his body as a portal into the world of the living. Sofi killed her twin to stop the dybbuk, and now it haunts her family for revenge. Sofi refers Casey to Rabbi Sendak, who can perform a Jewish exorcism to remove the dybbuk.

This was a huge disappointment, I wouldn't really recommend it. The acting and writing were over done, what could have made this more realistic or scary is just a touch up on the writing. The lead actress Odette Yustman really needs experience, she was just alright in the film. Of course I love the cliché of the crazy black best friend who calls her crazy at first but then all of a sudden is attacked at last second. If you do watch this, if you want a good scare, turn on the lights, I admit there are still some freaky moments, better than most of the PG-13 horror movies, but the story was just bad. It just could have been a lot better.

3/10

January is not such a good time for movies. The holiday season is over people are getting back to work and school and their normal lives, and the movie studios seem to take this opportunity to unload all their half-witted movies that probably no one is going to be interested in anyway. It seems that way every time I see a movie like The Unborn, anyway. This thing is so thin and weak it's like a cinematic version of weak tea, and weak tea is not something you want your audience to be thinking about while they're suffering through your scary movie.

Brought to us by the director of Blade: Trinity (and pretty much nothing else), The Unborn is the story of a girl who had a twin that died in utero because her umbilical cord had wrapped around his neck in the womb and strangled him, and she didn't become aware of it until decades later when his evil spirit decided that he was ready to be born now.

Sadly, the movie relies almost entirely on endless shots of creepy kids with deadpan expressions and, occasionally, colored contact lenses. But don't go thinking the clichés stop there, the movie is so jam-packed with cheap horror techniques that it almost feels like an educational experience in everything to avoid doing in making a scary movie.

The extreme close-up of the mutated babyface and the sudden screeching noise when the eyes flip open used to be a pretty scary effect. I can't remember when that was, it's been a number of decades now, but there was a time in the distant past when that shot had a cool effect. Now it's been so overdone and copied that it's no loner anything more than a big red flag that the movie you're watching is wasting your time!

In the movie's defense, it has a clear ability to create a tense atmosphere. Much of it is beautifully photographed, and the combination of the slow tracking shots and the moody music give a feeling of unease which, in a better movie, could easily pave the way for a genuinely freaky horror show. But unfortunately, every bit of the rest of the movie is as wispy and uninteresting as a pair of old underwear.

Odette Yustman stars as the afflicted Casey Beldon, faced with a terrible situation in which she is slowly losing her soul to an invading demon, back for revenge for that one pesky sibling rivalry that they had before they were born. Poor Casey finds out at the most vulnerable time that she inadvertently killed her own brother, which has to have some kind of devastating effect on a person, even one who is not in such an, ah, emotional state as Casey is in.

Oh, and speaking of emotional states, there is a point where Casey is absolutely certain that she is being pursued by an evil spirit, and even when the bizarre things that have been happening to her seem to leave no room for any other explanation, her lunkhead boyfriend says this to her – "I don't think you're crazy, I just think you're hormonal."

A word of advice, gentlemen – I don't claim to be any kind of all-knowing expert about the wonders and mysteries of the fairer sex, but I tend to have a natural feeling that if your girlfriend is upset about something, the suggestion that it's "that time of the month" is generally a pretty efficient way to make yourself single. Or bruised and swollen somewhere. And if she's upset because she's being pursued by demons, she may just cut to the chase and kill you.

Besides, it's clear that Casey needs a lot of help, because not only does she make all of those breathtakingly stupid decisions that horror movie cannon-fodder generally make, but she also begins to appear more and more crazy to the people around her as she begins to believe more and more that this demonic possession thing is happening to her for real.

Of course, making her look crazy is neither surprising nor interesting. It's an ancient horror movie technique intended to make the supernatural element seem more real by giving us someone to relate to – the people who are looking at this girl like she's a total lunatic. Unfortunately, when the character is so undeveloped and uninteresting that it's impossible to care about her, this crazy element does nothing for the suspense. Except maybe reverse it.

There are certainly some interesting visuals in the movie, even some of the clichés (a good many of them involving the old bathroom mirror scare) are older than the hills but at least look pretty cool.

The spider-walk is lifted directly out of The Exorcist (and it's such an obvious plagiarism that I'm going to go ahead and chalk it up to an homage), and there are some pretty clever manifestations of the demon, but the movie is so slow and plodding and full of half-assed performances (even the great Gary Oldman is totally dismissable here) that it feels like even the movie is sleeping through itself. And it doesn't help matters that the climax of the film is an exorcism that consists of a lot of strobe lights and big fans in a low-rent studio.

Believe it or not, I didn't hate the movie, but I'm a long-time horror fan and I have a tendency to enjoy horror movies that most other people would punch me for suggesting. But whether or not you enjoy the lower half of the horror genre, it's definitely true that there are quite a few much better movies about demonic possession that would be a far better use of your time than The Unborn. Personally, I suggest The Exorcism of Emily Rose, which is one of the best I've seen

This is an astonishing story about a vengeful specter who kills everybody go into his past . While Casey ( Odette Yustman ) is babysitting a little boy and his baby brother, she has a horrible nightmare involving a masked dog and an creepy child, and she tells her best friend ( Meagan Good ) over the cellular . Casey is unsettling because of suddenly appearing by this boy, and with some words as ¨ I want to born ¨ and when she goes to the ophthalmologist, he asks if she has a twin sister or brother . She asks her daddy ( James Remar ) and tells her that her mum lost a son that deceased in the birth . Casey suspects that she is haunted by the spirit of her twin . She encounters a letter addressed to an old woman named Sofi Kozma ( Jane Alexander ) and a photography at home that belonged to her mummy . Then she goes to a retirement house to meet Sofi , a survivor of the Joseph Mengele experiments during the WWII Holocaust . Later on , Casey asks help for experts on mysterious issues about a book of mirrors ( Gary Oldman , Idris Elba ) . After that , they form a Jewish exorcism with ten persons .

This frightening movie displays terror, shocks, hard-edged drama and creepy images. While the look is suitable atmospheric and eerie, the argument stretches plausibility to the breaking point . The film is a crossover of various terror movies , as the spooky phantoms of pale complexion of Japanese stories directed by Takashi Mike and Hideo Nakata as ¨The Grudge ¨ , ¨ The ring ¨ and ¨ Dark water ¨ and exorcism and diabolic possession of ¨ Omen ¨and of course ¨ The exorcist¨ , adding Joseph Mengele's Nazi experiments of ¨The boys from Brasil ¨ . The artistic technicians create a creepy make-up of horrible and bloody images though are also made by means of computer generator. The gutsy murders are gruesomely executed and equally graphic . The film is constituted by a well done terror set pieces with creepy and ghastly atmosphere . The specter appearance delivers the goods with hair raising chills and full scares. The motion picture is regularly written and directed by David S. Goyer . He is an expert writer ( Blade trilogy ,Batman , Flashforward series ) and producer (Mission to Mars , Ghost rider )though occasionally directs films ( The invisible , Blade : Trinity ). Rating : 5,5 acceptable and passable horror film.

The Unborn has come in for some criticism which I feel is somewhat unfair.

Casey is having bad dreams featuring a creepy kid with creepy contact lenses and the message "Jumby wants to be born now." This turns out to be a Dybbuk which wanted to use Casey's unborn twin brother to be reborn and has now latched on to her: only a multi-faith exorcism can deal with it.

There are some moments to make you jump, some creepy visuals (most of which show up in the trailer), Gary Oldman taking the pay cheque as a rabbi, and a tolerable (but not unforeseeable) twist at the end. The Dybbuk is not a horror movie baddie I have encountered before, so well done for that - however, it essentially manifests as a creepy kid who leaps out of shadows snarling, and those have been a dime a dozen ever since the Japanese started the fashion a few years ago.

Some say that the film is no more than an excuse for Odette Yustman (Casey) to wander around in her knickers - however, she does this a good deal less than I had been led to believe, and I was quite disappointed.

There were also a number of unanswered questions, things which nagged at me. Casey lives with her Dad in a house which is the size of a stately home - how come? Is Stacey at high school or university (we see her in a lecture hall)? Presumably it's university and presumably it's really near her home? What does her Dad do? They are clearly close, so when Casey is going through this really difficult time why is he nowhere to be seen? These things worry me.

Anyone disappointed in this movie must have really high expectations for what they want a horror movie to be.

It is of little surprise to come across a lame horror film in the early year studio dumping grounds but it is however surprising to learn that such a film is not an Asian horror remake even if it seems to be trying quite hard to be one. One thing I would like to clear up is that this is not The Uninvited (a superior thriller) this is The Unborn (a superiorly bad chiller), so make sure you don't go to the wrong one.

David S. Goyer is a peculiar man. Having scripted and developed stories for fantastic films such as Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Blade and some other upcoming superhero efforts, every time he fortes' into directing the results are all but underwhelming. That is not to say all writers can direct as this is certainly not the case, but I am confused as how even the writing in the features he directs are poor such as with the finale, Blade: Trinity the disappointing The Invisible and now this. He is certainly talented so his failures are even more disillusioning.

Many horror films go downhill around the time of their finale, but after a solid opening, The Unborn succumbs to the doldrums after the thirty minute mark roles around and continues shooting itself in the foot until the yawn inducing climax. What I found to be the largest determent to this fright flick is its lack of atmosphere. When looking at movies like The Uninvited or The Orphanage their stories are smart and the twist is never at the expense of the preceding acts. They are about atmosphere and build-up and are only perforated by 'boo' moments. The Unborn on the other hand is all about the boogie monster popping out and the story exists only as a mould for its dirt cheap scares.

Following the suicide of her mother years earlier Casey Beldon (Odette Yustman) has all but moved on with her life. She enjoys hanging with her sarcastic friend Romy (Meagan Good) and sees a future with her boyfriend Mark (Cam Gigandet). But following an odd encounter during a babysitting job across the street her past is forced back upon her. She learns she is a twin following the discovery of a genetic eye colour abnormality. Casey's father explains the young Beldon died in utero with her cord wrapped around his neck. Subsequently she is haunted by strange visions and horrible dreams and seeks council from a rabbi (Gary Oldman) and her long lost grandmother and is willing to do anything to rid herself of the possession slowly taking control of her.

I am not going to delve into the full plot in this review because to be honest, it is far to jumbled to fit into a coherent paragraph. And jumbled is exactly what the story becomes and as Casey's newly found grandmother (why her father failed to tell her, or why she failed to look Casey up is never explained) begins to ramble about dead twins, Nazi's and ancient lore it becomes too convenient and too stupid to invest in. Jane Alexander who plays Casey's grandmother, a former Auschwitz resident, is utterly awful and whose idea it was to simply add V's to the beginning of all her words to emulate a German accent. Gary Oldman seems lost and partially embarrassed to be in such trash and is actually overshadowed by Yustman who made her equally well acted debut as the damsel in distress in Cloverfield.

Even with some effective, if not cheap, scares The Unborn boasts far too many lulls between the frights to remain at all involving. The downtime is crammed with expositive plot elements and Casey running around in her underwear. One thing that can sometimes keep a film lacking this much afloat is a strong lead. While Yustman is strong her character acts so irrationally and evokes such a bizarre demeanour even I found it hard at time to believe her stories about demon Nazi babies and I knew what was going on (mostly). With some fun slasher flicks entering theatres and The Uninvited providing a far smarter and more effective outlet for horror fans, The Unborn seems dead on delivery.

3.5 / 10.0

Read all my reviews at: http://www.simonsaysmovies.blogspot.com

So a few friends and I went out to go rent this film. We got it and popped it in our laptop. The beginning was confusing but attention grabbing. We were in suspense and getting ready to be terrified. Then the little boy says "Jumby want to be born now". I all remember after that moment is a huge resounding laughter resulting from myself and a few others. Not only is the name ridiculous but the entire plot is just so comedic. It's attempt to be a horror/suspense film is a failed one.

I'm not sure if the screenwriter realized how absurd this story line gets. The acting is mediocre. If anything the main character,Odette Yustman, proved to be a pretty convincing actress. Cam Gigandet was present as eye candy, and that's pretty much it.

Anyway, It became a new genre of film for my friends and me. Now every time we stumble onto a movie that intends to be horror or something else and ends up being funny is classified as a Jumby movie. (I.E. The Orphan is also a Jumby movie.)

If you're looking for a good laugh, rent The Unborn.

I find it disappointing how much hate that this film has gotten. I actually almost didn't rent it because of all the criticism I'd heard. But, thankfully I went with my gut and it payed off. As it has now become clear to me that most people just *didn't get it*.

First let me just say that David Goyer--the director of The Unborn--created the film as a homage/throwback to those 70's classics many people love. Movies like Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, and The Omen. It is very by the book in the way it does this, but I found it none the less fun and effective. Goyer is really good at creating ominous atmosphere for his films that is both creepy and bleak. The film is chuck full of "jump" moments and makes good use of subliminal effects.

I was really surprised at how well researched the film was in both the Jewish folklore and the Nazi's experimentation on twins. The "monster" in this film is one that hasn't been done before, which is (IMO) nice to see in the age of carbon copy Hollywood horror.

I'm not saying the film was perfect--some of the dialogue and acting was average at best--but I do think that there is a level of hypocrisy in how people bash this film. Because they are the same ones that applaud films like Saw, Final Destination, The Ring and Grudge and Friday the 13 (which all appeal to the lowest common denominator at best).

Also, let me address the ending. People seem to think they are brilliant for seeing the ending coming and believe the film to be stupid because of this. Hate to burst your bubble, but you are actually meant to see the ending coming (evidence of this, is that the director made no attempt to hide it).

Bottom Line: If you're a fan of old supernatural horror and want to see something in the the same vein, then this is the film for you. It has good effects, good scares and a solid plot. It may not reinvent the horror genre, but it does the job it's meant to.