First of all, did you see the poster for THE UNBORN? That shot of Odette Yustman in her tank top and panties with the creepy little kid in the mirror says it all. She’s not there to be a character we root for, or who we really care if she lives or dies—she’s there to look good and move the story along. I suppose she accomplishes this, but a potentially decent horror film was lost in the process.
It all starts off with a brisk morning jog, and our girl Casey (Yustman) is running along fine until she spies a freaky-deaky little boy and a scary-ass masked dog. The scary-ass masked dog leads her to a spot in the woods, where with a bit of digging she uncovers a fetus in a jar—and wakes up. This is the start of a series of bad dreams, but even worse, Casey starts encountering scariness during her waking hours—kids hitting her in the head, possible eye tumors, and the unsettling news that she strangled a twin brother with her umbilical cord while still in the womb. Frazzled, she begins to delve deeper into the circumstances of her late mother’s suicide, eventually uncovering a link to a mysterious old woman named Sofi. After an initially unfriendly first meeting, Sofi reveals a whole bunch of important stuff, including the fact that Casey is dealing with a havoc-wreaking spirit that’s trying to find a body, known in Jewish mysticism as a “dybbuk.” Armed with some back story and a bit of pluck, Casey takes her case to a friendly rabbi (Gary Oldman) and, after a few more frightening twists, there’s an exorcism.
Now, in its bare bones, THE UNBORN is an intriguing story. The twin thing has been done a lot, I know, but it’s not often the demons are Jewish, and it was a cool twist to hear about a section of mythology that hasn’t been explored in much depth. There are also some genuinely scary looking moments—the boy is respectably ominous, bugs are always good for a scream or two, and masks are bad enough, but on a dog can be even worse. Oh, and there’s that twisty-headed old man and Casey’s yuck-mouth mama. Unfortunately, all of the visuals that could’ve brought the scare were shown in the trailer, and when shown in context and at more length in the film, they actually lose their impact.
I mentioned its bare bones, but while the potential was there to produce a horror film with some original twists, writer/director David Goyer chose instead to go with way too many easy fixes. I don’t necessarily need complete histories of my characters or total plot consistency in my forays into the supernatural—that’s why it’s the supernatural—but gaping plot caverns can’t be ignored. First of all (and this isn’t really a hole, just annoying), Casey has the personality of a cardboard cutout and elicited no sympathy—no fault of Yustman, the girl did all she could. Maybe that’s why Casey’s “support system” is so noticeably absent. Oh sure, her best friend Romy (Meagan Good) has a healthy dose of screen time, and boyfriend Mark (Cam Gigandet) is pretty damn understanding, but even they are missing—along with large chunks of time—when Casey is supposedly at home being all stressed out. What did she do all day every day once she found out that mean little spirit was after her? And more importantly, where was her dad? We see him offer her some cheesecake, she visits him at work and finds out all about her twin-strangling, and then never again. Perhaps everyone else is as bored by Casey as I was?
Scare-wise, as I mentioned before, there are a few make-you-jump scenes, a bit of suspense, and I think the dybbuk story itself could be frightening if executed well. There’s very little in the way of gore, and though one killing in particular seemed to borrow from that staple of Best Scary Film Moments lists DON’T LOOK NOW, there’s nothing here for even the casual horror fan to blog about.
The worst part of THE UNBORN is it’s unrealized potential. I never expected it to be a classic, and I didn’t even figure it would be on par with the other two horror movies I saw this weekend, MIRRORS and QUARANTINE. I did, however, think there might be something new. Sadly, there wasn’t.
– Amber Goddard
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
