Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: The Unborn (2009)

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Posted by Benny Walters (Member # 4894) on 01-08-2009, 07:22 PM:

I screened this last night and was very unimpressed. It has a ton of very creepy elements mostly borrowed from the Omen franchise but really fails to tie the elements together into a cohesive plot. The first few reels are incredibly boring as it is a pretty slow starter as well. Basically the ending feels rushed and doesn't do an adequate job of explaining much of anything. The only thing I enjoyed was Gary Oldman and his mad shofar skills.

1.5 out of 5
[thumbsdown]

Posted by Mark Strube (Member # 4190) on 01-09-2009, 03:03 AM:

Loved the freaky visuals, and I have to give it credit, it worked hard for those jump scenes. It got me a few times. Unfortunately the script is completely typical, as are the performances. But I'll recommend people see it for a good scare. This one needs to be played LOUD for full effect!

Presentation review? Well, I ran it so... [Big Grin]

Posted by Tyler Potts (Member # 4952) on 01-09-2009, 11:32 AM:

Agree with both above. It made me jump a few times which is all I expected. I feel like any battle with a spirit that can inhibit anyone is a pretty one sided fight (like in Fallen).

Posted by Stu Jamieson (Member # 4626) on 02-28-2009, 07:25 PM:

The Unborn is flawed on just about every count. It's premise about evil Nazi genetic demons using mirrors as gateways between worlds is not a good start and neither is its first act which jumps straight into the horror without any character build-up. (Where's the getting-to-know-the-heroin-in-the-happy-times sequence which allows us to empathise with her before she's hurled into the meat grinder?) And finally it all culminates in a coda which is so obvious you'll wish you'd lobotomised yourself beforehand so as to at least preserve some element of surprise. The result is a patently silly film which looks like it has its first reel missing.

Many plot turns are illogical or are merely devices hastily thrown together to either shove the story forward or illicit a particular response from the audience. For instance, why does the evil kid kill his infant sister (oh, that's right, because he's evil!), and why does the evil kid hide in the bathroom mirror cabinet (oh, that's right, because that's the place we'd least expect him to be) and what's with all the bugs? (Oh, that's right, bugs are creepy.) This isn't so much a movie as a story pitch. It's a film made from a premise instead of a script. It's a series of (barely) horrifying images crudely connected by lines of vapid dialogue whose primary purpose is to spoon feed us plot points so as to ensure we don't miss them. Admittedly there's some guilty enjoyment to be had by playing spot-the-cliché but this becomes quickly tiresome.

Performances are below par even for run-of-the-mill Hollywood horror. Megan Fox clone, Odette Yustman, is outperformed by her colour-changing prosthetic eyes as the heroin of the piece. (Note to casting agents everywhere - being pretty does not make one a good actor.) Gary Oldman and Carla Gugino fill out a couple of minor roles and should know better than to be involved in this.

The attachment of Michael Bay's name to this project ought to be sufficient warning, however if you're insistent on seeing the best that this film has to offer, watch the trailer; it's creepier and it's only two and half minutes long.

1 out of 10.