The Unborn (2009)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Good concept, poorly executed.

Fresh and Exciting

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

I always like to look at the IMDB reviews before watching a horror movie (especially those on Netflix) and I must say this movie got way less than it deserved, While it falls short of being scary, (and c'mon, most movies in this genre tend to) it was still suspenseful, and the effects were realistic/creepy. The formula is nothing new, but the story itself is actually pretty original. Compared to most horror movies I've seen, this is definitely one I'll remember and will want to watch again. 6-8 seems like a fair rating for a movie like this. Great acting, good story, awesome effects; my advice is ignore any ratings below 5 because they do this film an injustice.

Seeing an evil spirit everywhere around her, a young woman finds that is the dead soul of her stillborn twin brother attempting to reenter the world it should've been born into and tries to stop it from succeeding in its wishes.On the whole this one was a highly enjoyable effort with a lot to like about it. One of the better parts to this one is the film's rather impressive amount of encounters throughout here, which is pretty rampant along the way. The opening dream, with the mask-wearing dog and the fetus in the jar, sets things up nicely as to the possibilities of what's going on in here as this builds incredibly nicely into the later scenes of the insects crawling after her, the ghost attack in the bathroom, and the growing number of sightings in her life being quite fun. This is furthered by the fine attacks throughout here, most notably the manifestation in the club appearing from the bathroom stall amidst a swarm of insects and otherworldly hands breaking through the walls while another rather creepy scene of her dreaming of the ghostly being violently clawing into her womb. Even more enjoyable in the first half here is the build-up of other great factors throughout with the eye problems and voices that are all nicely explained here with the stories of the spirit wanting to cross over from fore and the connection with twins that nicely explains all the different events and connections in here. That as well follows through into the film's best point in its final half as the explanations are all given and focuses the best action here with the enraged creature using its best tricks and most furious attacks here, from the deformed being chasing after the woman in the retirement home, the brutal stalking of the best friend in by the demonically-encouraged child and the finale here with the big exorcism taking place in the abandoned church where everything comes together into a grand time. The different rites that need to be performed, the setting and the main sequence of it throwing the equipment around to disrupt the ceremony followed by the possessed participants of the ceremony making for some thrilling, exciting action. These here all manage to hold off the few small, barely detrimental flaws here. The most obvious feature this one is the rather convoluted and complex plot that doesn't give off all sorts of questions here. There's little here that makes sense, as the supposed art that would've explained this in the back-story to the concentration camp only tells of the type of creature but nothing else and it leaves this one with all sorts of unanswered questions throughout the film. As well, the other flaw here is the obviously toned-down feeling in here in regards to the sleaze and kills, deliberately missing those elements yet purposefully trying to appeal in that regard with brutal, bloodless kills and scenes of her continuously in her underwear but blocks out the shower scene and keeping it to the aftermath of the sex scene. These here hold it down, but it's still better than expected.Rated PG-13: Violence and Language.

After watching this for the second time (first time was a couple of years ago so I've forgotten most of the details), I finally get around to reviewing this excellent film. Why do I start by saying excellent without any exposition or preparation? Because I'm disappointed and frustrated with the IMDb rating community. At the time I'm writing this, The Unborn is rated 4.8, proving once again that a true Horror fan can never trust raters and reviewers, only themselves.Not unlike this review, The Unborn also lacks an exposition, throwing the viewer into the hardships of the story from the first second. We are not presented with the cliché corny stories of a visit to a graveyard, an after hours game with a Ouija board or a new house where take-your-pick-what-bad-things happened. Instead, the nightmares and haunting are already there. The beginning reminded me of Saving Private Ryan, where the death and carnage of war descend upon the viewers from the first moment, although here in The Unborn the first scenes are much less intense, allowing the story to build up slowly enough to create suspense and on edge sensations, yet not too slow to be boring.The idea behind the haunting story is original and beautifully innovative, traits sadly absent from most of today's haunting stories. In addition, we are finally presented with an exorcism ordeal which isn't fundamentally Christian, but Jewish! As a Jew, I might be slightly biased here, but seriously, hasn't anyone else been aching for exorcism films which go slightly beyond the regular "the power of Christ compels you" ceremony? I would also love to see exorcisms involving Muslim mysticism, or Hindu or Pagan, anything that would attempt to renew the all too familiar frame story of the classic The Exorcist. It's been long enough, Hollywood!Also, I found the connection to the Holocaust, Dr. Mengele and his twins research to be right on the spot. The writers have succeeded in using these references without making them cheap, and the focus on the Occult studies by the Nazis was a great addition to the overall eerie and frightening feeling throughout the film.As for the phantoms / demons / ghosts, The Unborn uses the Asian method of pale skin, big dark eyes and growing gaping mouths, just the way a phantom should look in my opinion. There is no shame in learning from the best, and when it comes to showing phantoms on screen, the Asians are the masters. The use of some jump scares involving these ghosts was also done in a satisfying manner - not too many and not too few. True, jump scares are cheap tricks, but not everything cheap is necessarily bad and out of place, especially in this sub-genre.I don't have much to say about the acting or cinematography. Nothing special about the use of camera and effects, nothing too noticeable about the acting. I do have to say two things: First, Jane Alexander was absolutely marvelous, using body language and accent like a real Holocaust survivor (and I say this as one who has met a few in my life). With different lighting and scenery I would have believed her to be an actual survivor from a documentary about Auschwitz. Second - I'm not sure if casting Cam Gigandet for such a secondary role was the right choice. Even without seeing him in Never Back Down and others, it is obvious that his screen presence is undeniable and his acting charisma is superb, surpassing that of lead actress Odette Annable and overclouding her at times (not to say she wasn't good, I have no criticism about her acting here).When I watch a Horror film, the story is the most important thing for me, and the story here is excellent. I'd love it even if it wasn't as original and innovative, which it is (congratulations David S. Goyer, you have definitely joined my Horror hall of fame!). The phantoms are scary as they should be, the haunting and exorcism are great - all in all, one of the best films in this sub-genre of haunting and exorcism and one of the best Horror films I've seen. The Unborn definitely deserves 8, but seeing as how the IMDb community insists on underrating it, I allow myself to be slightly less objective than I first intended, and rate it a 9. I recommend it with a passion!

only dumb audiences can give low rating. the movie seems stereotyped at beginning but sooner it turned to the horror reality of ww2 that introduced to it's antagonist who is not typical dead man's returned soul. the ghost revealed as a spirit, a different entity who wants a new body.the movie is quite scary, but stupid audiences who skip the norm breaking ideas set only divulge their dumbness with low ratingWhy did You came to watch this movie?? It has arduous exorcism, A girls frightening story that began with dream and with every scene her nightmare just get sheerer. The entity revealed with flashback is quite interesting, it is not a consequence of any tragic incident, it's a dread spirit that eclipsed the whole movie with horrific acts.Overall, people with good horror taste will enjoy for sure