The Unborn (2009)

At a total domestic gross of almost 43 million and worldwide gross of 76.5 million my one and only question is how many of those people were guys who went to see this film based on the above movie poster alone? I would have to take a conservative guess and say at least 50%, I could be wrong, but whatever the answer may be The Unborn wins best poster of the year award and provided a marketing campaign that surely did not hurt the film.

The bizarreness of The Unborn begins immediately as Casey Beldon begins to have strange dreams surrounding a very demonic looking boy. Dreams that quickly begin to turn into reality as she appears to be haunted by this child. Casey soon learns she had a twin brother who never survived long enough in the womb to be born, Jumby was the nickname her parents had given him, and Jumby wanted to be born. "Jumby wants to be born," is a phrase used multiple times throughout the film, yet the explanation of exactly what this means isn't brought to light until the film's conclusion.

Initially Casey believes she's being haunted by the ghost of her unborn brother, but it turns out to be ever stranger, she's being haunted by a dybbuk. A dybbuk is a possessing spirit from Jewish folklore, forced to roam the borderlines between the afterlife and the earthly life due to serious transgressions. This dybbuk first possessed Casey's grandmother's twin brother when he was killed during the Holocaust, it haunted Casey's mother leading to her death and now it haunts her. Casey must find a way to end the family curse before all those she loves and herself included are killed.

As I've said about most movies (especially B-movies), never judge a film by its poster, because usually you'll find better quality on the outside than you will on the inside. Sadly that's the case with The Unborn, a film that actually has all the qualities of a decent horror film but is sorely lacking in the execution. The atmosphere, the casting and even at times the special effects are horror worthy, its ultimately the story and the direction of the film which lack any real thrills. I quickly found myself getting bored as Casey would randomly be surprised by strange noises and large ants crawling out of her morning breakfast or a toilet. I'll admit the first "jump" moment in the bathroom did send chills down my entire body, but that was the extent of my scare the rest of the film employs scare tactics that have been seen multiple times over in any number of of Japanese horror remakes over the past decade.

Also the story of Jumby, the dybbuk, or whatever was chasing her was a long stretch, very boring and it never made much sense. Even when the film goes back to the Holocaust, the reason for this creature haunting Casey still doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The final revelation given at the conclusion gives a rather quickie explanation but really isn't very satisfying after sitting through nearly 90 minutes of a mediocre horror. Ultimately it's more of a setup to a sequel than it is a decent wrap-up.

Of course the main reason most people (most guys) will be watching this film is for the lovely Odette Yustman. Some have already pinned her as the next Megan Fox minus the tattoos and plus some talent. I'll agree Yustman has the Megan Fox look at times but I also see a little bit of Jennifer Connelly, not only in her looks but her acting as well. She'll have a good career ahead of her if she proceeds in choosing better roles. Overall, The Unborn is more boring than it is awful. The story wasn't interesting enough to grab my attention and the execution of the film was more a conglomeration of a decades worth of remakes. My advice, buy the poster and DVR the film when it hits cable in a year that way you can freely fast forward the boring parts.

4/10