FilmoFiliaFilmoFiliaFilmoFilia
  • News
  • Posters
  • Trailers
  • Photos
  • Red Carpet
  • Cannes Film Festival
  • More
    • Box Office
    • OSCAR Awards
    • Venice Film Festival
    • Movie Reviews
    • Interview
Reading: The Unborn Review
Share
FilmoFiliaFilmoFilia
  • News
  • Posters
  • Trailers
  • Photos
  • Red Carpet
  • Cannes Film Festival
  • More
    • Box Office
    • OSCAR Awards
    • Venice Film Festival
    • Movie Reviews
    • Interview
Follow US
llusion is the first of all Pleasures. Copyright © 2007 - 2024 FilmoFilia
FilmoFilia > Movie Reviews > The Unborn Review
Movie Reviews

The Unborn Review

Allan Ford September 4, 2011 5 comments
The UnbornWell before the release of writer/director David Goyer‘s The Unborn, the Dark Knight-scribe talked of a possible sequel to the dybbuk scare – an opportunity, he said, to go deeper into the origins of the spirit haunting lead Odette Yustman (Cloverfield). Now that the film has come forth, any idea of continuing the story should be aborted posthaste. With its impaired speech, unusual movements and awkward sense of sexuality, The Unborn is a deformed film unbecoming of Goyer. While his directing background is limited, Goyer has some formidable writing credibility. However, none of that talent is inherited by The Unborn; and despite an intriguing premise, would have been better not to have been born at all…full story [FirstShowing] Yustman plays Casey Beldon, a college student who suddenly begins seeing scorpions in her eggs, dogs with masks, and all sorts of other crazy things. Her doctor gives her the boring reason: genetic mosaicism, a retinal irregularity usually seen in twins. It takes her Holocaust-survivor grandmother (Jane Alexander) to root out the real, much more evil reason, and, as per usual, the Nazis are involved. The reason that creepy blue-eyed zombie child keeps following her around has something to do with experiments done on Casey's great uncle in Auschwitz that naturally turned him into a mythical Jewish demon named Dybbuk. And it's up to Gary Oldman, as a Rabbi, to exorcize the malicious bugger…full story [FilmCritic] The Unborn photo There are possessions, a monster man that looks like something from JOHN CARPENTER'S THE THING, and then that same monster is soon doing an EXORCIST walk. I dug the monster itself, in fact, when David uses the creepy looking kid or the man turned beast, I had a bit of fun. But as I mentioned, I felt as if I should have a checklist that I could match the scene with whatever inspiration that came to mind. While all of the comparisons may be, for the most part coincidental, it became a huge distraction. The cut and paste editing didn't help things much either. One character will disappear for awhile, then just show up to move the plot along. Some of the sequences would build in a very strange and far from natural way. And by the time the plot finds its way to an oddball exorcism, everything goes into overdrive. People are being possessed, doors are slamming and all hell breaks loose. But when all is revealed, I realized I had it all figured out after the first ten minutes…full story [Joblo] Goyer makes the smart choice of taking the less is more approach to spooking his audience. Sure, there are a few editing and visual tricks he uses to signify Yustman's world is growing distorted, but he holds off on the gore and fright tactics for as long as he can. Tension is established early on and by the time we are presented with familiar CGI monstrosities we're already uncomfortable in our seats…full story [Latinoreview]

The Unborn

Pic marks a departure for Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes shingle, representing the first original scarefest from an outfit best known for remaking such horror classics as “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “The Amityville Horror.” And yet, so familiar are the recycled bits that make up this “The Exorcist”-meets-“The Grudge” combo that Goyer isn't likely to get much credit for all the background research he did trying to flesh out a fresh backstory for such supernatural shenanigans…full story [Variety] The no name girl in question is played by Odette Yustman. I refuse to refer to her as an actress. She was also in Cloverfield, where her bad acting was probably easier to mask hidden behind that awful shaky cam. The fact that she's gotten more than one gig in this industry must be attributed to her lean and sexy figure, not her acting which is non-existent. She does at least look delicious, you can kind of see why a ghost would want to get in her. Hey maybe he's not trying to possess her, maybe he just wants a date. I refuse to waste any more of my day on this movie. There's no excusing it. It's as if the worst parts of every bad horror movie ever made were stitched together into a single turd and splattered in front of a camera. It's terrible. I've warned you. I've done my duty. Now let's never speak of this movie again…full story [Cinemablend]

The Unborn

Filmmakers always say they want to make a horror movie on the level of “The Exorcist” or “Rosemary's Baby” and the inevitable result is something like this…generic, underdeveloped and more silly than scary. “The Unborn's” poster prominently features Yustman in her underwear, and while Goyer initially seems content to exploit the lithe body of his lead, the film's bargain basement thrills just get cheaper from there. PG-13-friendly loud noises and demonic children appearing out of nowhere substitute for anything innovative or interesting. By the time veteran actress Jane Alexander starts ranting in a thick Hungarian accent about Nazis and ghostly horrors that “started in Auschwitz” you'll be too busy cracking up to get creeped out…full story [Metromix Chicago]

The Unborn

Basically, if The Unborn were two degrees dumber, it'd be the funniest movie of the past seven years. As it stands, one can only watch the lunacy parade across the screen and wonder “How did the guy who co-wrote The Dark Knight think THIS was a good idea for a horror movie?” Frankly there's not a theme, a scare, a character, or a concept in The Unborn that you haven't already yawned through during The Messengers, One Missed Call, or just about any other (mostly PG-13) horror movie that wasn't really made for horror fans in the first place. But what's that? Who would make a horror movie that's NOT for horror fans? Lots of people. And they do it every damn month. Once in a while they hit paydirt with some dung-heap like Prom Night and then we get a bunch more teeny-bopper pseudo-horror flicks that MIGHT have a solid opening weekend — but are instantly forgotten and never remembered with any degree of fondness. I guess that big opening weekend is a lot more important than a quality effort and a strong shelf life…full story [Fearnet].

You Might Also Like

Is Harrison Ford Ready to Take Flight Again in an ‘Air Force One’ Sequel?

30 Years of ‘Leon: The Professional’: A Stunning New Trailer & Blu-ray Release

STAR WARS: EPISODE VII: Gary Oldman Confirms: “They’ve Called”

ROBOCOP Poster

New Stills From José Padilha’s ROBOCOP

TAGGED:Gary OldmanJane AlexanderOdette YustmanThe Unborn
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Threads Copy Link
Previous Article Three New THE UNBORN Posters
Next Article Eva Green’s FRANKLYN Trailer
5 Comments
  • Stephanie Cullen Swan Black says:
    January 15, 2009 at 9:15 am

    omg this mooovie looks freaky… but im still gonna c it. lmao. :DDD but twilight is sooo much better. lmao :)

    Reply
  • coffee says:
    January 17, 2009 at 12:46 pm

    why don’t they ever cast ugly girls for these roles?

    Reply
  • AaronGTV says:
    March 4, 2009 at 7:29 am

    are you serious?… think about it… you see a really ugly girl runing… screaming her head off… would you even care? that could be a scary movie right there… dont even need a plot… just have a bunch of ugly women running… holy crap, are they running too or away? no one knows… but man is it creepy. lol

    that’s like asking why they dont have ugly people model swimsuits.

    Reply
  • sxc lil laurz says:
    March 8, 2009 at 2:13 pm

    seen this movie today!
    its realy bad btw

    ‘he wants to be born now’

    xxx

    Reply
  • Myahh says:
    March 11, 2009 at 9:12 am

    this film is dead funnie lmao i went 2 c it wif 2 of my mates :D:D:D:D:D

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest News

Pedro Pascal The Fantastic Four First Steps
Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards: A Mind Too Brilliant for Its Own Good
Movie News June 24, 2025
Scorsese DiCaprio
No Mercy in the Rust‑Belt: Carthage Must Be Destroyed Rises from Scorsese & DiCaprio’s Shadows
Movie News June 24, 2025
Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth
The Cliff Booth Chronicles: When Fincher Meets Tarantino in a $100M+ Epic
Movie News June 24, 2025

Latest Trailers

Star People
The UFOs Aren’t the Scariest Thing in Star People
Movie Trailers June 23, 2025
Splitsville
‘Splitsville’ Trailer Promises a Divorce Comedy That’s as Sharp as It Is Tender
Movie Trailers June 23, 2025
My Mother’s Wedding
Kristin Scott Thomas’s Directorial Debut Heats Up: My Mother’s Wedding Trailer Brings Scarlett, Sienna & Emily Home
Movie Trailers June 23, 2025

Latest Posters

The Old Guard
The Old Guard 2: Mortality Sharpens the Blade in Netflix’s Immortal Sequel
Movie Posters June 24, 2025
Smurfs
Smurfs Posters Unleash CURSED Celebrity Madness!
Movie Posters June 24, 2025
Jurassic World Rebirth
Scarlett Johansson Fights for Survival in Jaw-Popping ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ Posters
Movie Posters June 22, 2025

You Might also Like

RoboCop
Movie Trailers

Dead Or Alive… You’re Coming With Me! First ROBOCOP Trailer Is Here And It Looks Great

September 6, 2013
PARANOIA Image 19
Movie PhotosMovie Trailers

Check Out: 5 New Clips & 30 New Pics From PARANOIA (Opening This Month)

August 5, 2013
Mr. Morgan's Last Love Poster
Movie PostersMovie Trailers

New MR. MORGAN’S LAST LOVE Trailer and International Poster

August 2, 2013
MR. MORGAN'S LAST LOVE Poster
Movie PhotosMovie PostersMovie Trailers

MR. MORGAN’S LAST LOVE: First Trailer & Images With Michael Caine, Gillian Anderson And More

August 1, 2013

FIlmoFilia HOMEIllusion is the first of all Pleasures. Copyright © 2007 - 2025 FilmoFilia.

  • About FilmoFilia
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?