The Unborn (2009)

Director:

David S. Goyer

Writer (WGA):

David S. Goyer (written by)

Release Date:

9 January 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Evil will do anything to live.

Plot:

A young woman fights the spirit that is slowly taking possession of her.

Plot Keywords:

Possession | Dog | Letter | Experiment | Twin Brother

Cast

Odette Yustman	...	Casey Beldon
Gary Oldman	...	Rabbi Sendak
Cam Gigandet	...	Mark
Meagan Good	...	Romy
Idris Elba	...	Arthur Wyndham
Jane Alexander	...	Sofi Kozma
Atticus Shaffer	...	Matty Newton
James Remar	...	Gordon Beldon
Carla Gugino	...	Janet Beldon
C.S. Lee	...	Dr. Lester Caldwell
Rhys Coiro	...	Mr. Shields
Michael Sassone	...	Eli Walker
Ethan Cutkosky	...	Barto
Craig J. Harris	...	Rick Hesse (as Craig Harris)
Rachel Brosnahan	...	Lisa

Also Known As:

Born (USA) (original script title)
Untitled David S. Goyer Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and terror, disturbing images, thematic material and language including some sexual references.

Runtime:

88 min | 89 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44979) | UK:15 | Ireland:16 | Australia:M | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | Netherlands:16 | South Africa:16LV | New Zealand:M | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Germany:16 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Brazil:14 | Mexico:B15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Denmark:15 | Norway:15 | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 | Peru:14

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Rogue Pictures

Trivia:

Rabbi Sendak has a sign in his office that reads "When God made Man, She was Only Joking!"

Goofs:

Continuity: In the club scene, after entering Mark asks Casey, Romy and one other girl if he can get any a drink from the bar. Romy and the other girl orders a drink. Casey says no. As soon as Mark walks away to complete the order, Casey begins to walk through the club already holding a drink.

Quotes:

Matty Newton: Jumby wants to be born now.

Movie Connections:

Features The Invisible Man (1933)

Soundtrack:

Fight The Pain

Woeful

Having seen the trailers for 'Unborn' and admiring David S. Goyer's writing talents on films such as 'The Dark Knight' I was kind of looking forward to it. I knew it wouldn't be much more than a typical Hollywood attempt at horror but I thought I'd get at least 90 minutes of entertainment out of it. I was wrong.

The story is terribly contrived and goes through the typical horror story motions from start to finish: childhood trauma - check! Nightmares - check! It also takes so much content from other films its unbelievable. More unbelievable is the fact that it botches these 'homages' every time. The film plods on and on attempting to at least get a jump out of you (which it fails at) until finally you get to the finale. Needless to say, the finale is also terrible. More so because at least the one thing the film does manage to do is contain the odd decent special effect. However, the finale for some reason doesn't contain any of these effects and resorts to actors merely wearing contact lenses.

I'm perhaps being a bit harsh giving the film a 3/10 but given the actors involved and David S. Goyer's obvious writing talent, this film really should have delivered far more.