Reviews: The Unborn (2009) Movie Review
Genres: Horror, Thriller, Drama, Mystery, Fantasy, Demons
Subgenres: Possession, Killer Kids, Medical, Pregnancy
Where does The Unborn (2009) stand among horror films? Our review examines the scares, pacing, and what makes it unique in the genre.
The Unborn (2009) isn’t terrible by any means, but it’s underwhelming--and try as David S. Goyer might put a Jewish spin to the subgenre, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before in the recent crop of other exorcism movies.
The Unborn follows Casey Beldon (Odette Yustman - Cloverfield (2008)), who is plagued by terrifying visions of a boy with stark blue eyes. In trying to make sense of the deaths that begin to pile around her, she discovers that she has a twin, nicknamed Jumby, who died in the womb. And Jumby is demanding to be "born now."
Casey’s search sends her down a rabbit hole of N*zi experimentation and Jewish folklore: Her troubled family history reveals an evil spirit called the Dybbuk that has tormented her family for generations, even driving her mother to suicide. Honestly, between flashbacks to a dead mother and an evil ghost twin determined to possess her, a lot is going on in this plot without having to mine Auschwitz, of all things, for a throwaway backstory--a bizarre creative decision that can be laid squarely at the feet of David S. Goyer as its writer and director. It’s utterly unnecessary because the Dybbuk is plenty horrifying on its own.
It’s made decent casting choices in Gary Oldman, James Remar, Carla Gugino, and Idris Elba. Still, they’re not used to full effect as supporting characters to lackluster talents like Meagan Good, Cam Gigandet, and even Odette Yustman. It’s not that she doesn’t have the acting chops to pull off a leading role--there’s not enough meat to this movie for her to be taken seriously or campy enough to catapult her to scream queen status.
Things come to a head when she turns to Rabbi Joseph Sendak (Gary Oldman - Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), The Dark Knight (2008), Batman Begins (2005)) to perform a Jewish exorcism. The third act is the low point of the movie: Whereas the movie was bearable ‘til now, its ending is just run-of-the-mill horror fare that derails the momentum that The Unborn had so far built on, with wind machines and wire rigs at work as the demon exorcism goes sideways.
Sure, The Unborn plays right into a lot of horror cliches, copping scares off of far better movies--from the dreamscapes made famous by A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) to others less subtle, like the iconic stair scene of The Exorcism--but at least they’re done competently. Everything is tinged a sad blue, an oft-used trick in movies like this, but it works. Scenes where Jumby makes his presence felt, especially the opening dream sequence, lend effectively creepy imagery--no doubt these are the movie’s highlights. I’d be lying if I said none of the special effects wouldn’t make you slink back in your seat. In retrospect, they may not be very original, but they deserve credit for being polished and well-executed.
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Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- The Unborn Rating Scores
- Our Score: 5/10
- Overall Score: 3.64/10
- IMDB: 4.7/10
- MetaCritic: 3.0/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 1.0/10
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