Friday, January 9, 2009

The Unborn

Genre - Horror
Year Released - 2009
Running Time - 87 minutes
Rated PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence & terror, disturbing images, and language - including some sexual references)
Directed by David S. Goyer (Blade: Trinity, The Invisible, and the upcoming X-Men Origins: Magneto)
Written by David S. Goyer (Blade 1 - 3, as well as episodes of the television series - Dark City, Batman Begins & The Dark Knight, plus the upcoming The Flash - in 2010, and X-Men Origins: Magneto - in 2011)
Cast Includes:
Odette Yustman (Beth from Cloverfield)
Meagan Good (Brick, Venom, and Saw V)
Cam Gigandet (Never Back Down and Twilight)
James Remar (Dexter's father - from the Showtime series Dexter, Blade: Trinity, The Quest, The Phantom, The Warriors, etc)
Carla Gugino (Spy Kids 1 - 3, The One, Sin City, Righteous Kill, and the upcoming Watchmen and Race to Witch Mountain)
Jane Alexander (The Cider House Rules and The Ring)
and last, but certainly not least [one of my all-time favorite actors] Gary Oldman (True Romance, Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Professional, Romeo is Bleeding, JFK, and of course his portrayal of Sirius Black in the Harry Potter films and James Gordon in Batman Begins & The Dark Knight)

Rating: 5 Skulls

Plot Summary:
Tortured by frightening dreams at night and by the ghost of a young boy during the day, young Casey turns to a spiritual advisor named Rabbi Sendak for help. Together the two uncover and try to stop a powerful family curse, dating back to the Nazi era.

Review:
Well, I can now add a 2nd title to the great "PG-13" horror movies list [the only other worthwhile PG-13 horror film, in my opinion is The Ring] I never understood the whole PG-13 horror movie thing [other than the fact that it allows young teenagers to see films they otherwise might not be allowed to see] To me, a horror film should not worry about trying for a particular rating - just go all out and shoot what you wish to get across, and then go with the rating you receive. . .
However, when The Ring came out, in 2002, I left the theatre freaked out by that movie - it didn't help that when I got home [I had not even been home for a full minute] the phone started ringing :-)

With The Unborn, David Goyer has written & directed an extremely freaky and thought-provoking film [I love intelligent horror films!] In my mind, Goyer's vision has to have shone through in this film - and that's with the PG-13 rating! The film starts off on a freaky note, and doesn't let up!


Obviously, I am not going to give anything away, however I will tell you that the film dabbles in Jewish folklore, where we learn about a Dybbuk, [the soul of a dead person, trying to find a new body to inhabit] and as stated in the plot summary, things harken back to the Nazi era, where Nazi's were performing genetic testing on twins. . .

In my opinion, Odette Yustman completely sold her character's believability [and I'm not saying this, just because she's extremely hot! - I mean, c'mon, how many guys are going to go see this movie, solely based on the above poster?!?]


In all seriousness though, this really is a great movie - highly recommended - it's only the beginning of the year, and this may just make my end of the year's top ten horror films list :-)

Here's the Trailer:


Also, just in case you don't stay through the credits - no actual Torah scrolls were actually destroyed in the making of this film [I just thought that was pretty funny]

Jason

P.S. Don't forget - Jumby wants to be born now. . .

14 comments:

Unknown said...

You sold me. I definitely want to see this now. When I saw the trailer, I wasn't too sure because of the familiarity of the Exorcist's "spider walk" scene... but..

thebonebreaker said...

Yeah, but there is a story behind that scene. . .

Be sure to let me know what you think afterwards!

J

Andrew Simon said...

You might actually have sold me on seeing this movie. Sure, bloody brilliant marketing strategy with the poster, but I was still unsure. But, what the hell, I'll give it a try.

thebonebreaker said...

Andrew,

The marketing may get the people [okay, men] into the seats, but the story is what keeps everyone there! :-)

J

Anonymous said...

I still refuse to see this in theaters, maybe I will catch it on DVD. Supernatural horror, especially the kind featuring 'unborn' ghosts is a little too Christian to be scary, at least for me. I can see peoples attraction to these stories but I have never been one for vengeful aborted fetuses... they bore me.

On that topic did you see "Re-Cycle?" That was another movie featuring an 'unborn' ghost, it was quite beautiful but still not my brand of fear.

Still, love the reviews, even the ones I don't 100% agree with!

thebonebreaker said...

JR,

Without really giving anything away ~ the "ghost" isn't the fetus' [rather he's around 9 or 10 years old ~ it all goes back to the whole Nazi storyline. . .]

I am glad to hear that you are enjoying my reviews :-)

P.S. Re-Cycle is in my Netflix Queue [not too far from the top, if I remember correctly]

J

the jaded viewer said...

Wow really 5 skulls? I may actually have to check this out.

thebonebreaker said...

JV,

I personally loved the movie, and I would buy it [hence the 5 Skulls]

From what I have read, in other blogs, I may be the only one who actually liked this one though :-)

[perhaps I was just enamored by Yustman's presence] ;-)

J

Lisa Bee said...

Cool review. I have been trying to see this, but bad weather, car trouble and other events have conspired against me. I had written it off after hearing that others didn't like it (plus I'm now gearing up for the release of My Bloody Valentine). But you've got me convinced that I shouldn't give up on The Unborn just yet.

thebonebreaker said...

Lisa,

Apparently I am the only one that likes this movie [I have yet to read another positive review] So, I'll be interested if you like it or not :-)

Yes, I too am ready for MBV! [tonight's early screening in fact!]

J

Anonymous said...

Greatest movie poster... ever.

thebonebreaker said...

Definitely one of the best!

If I were still a teenager, I would have had that poster hanging on my bedroom wall! ;-)

J

Anonymous said...

If I were a teenager with that poster hanging on my wall... I'd never see the light of day, and I'd suffer one wicked case of carpal tunnel.

thebonebreaker said...

hahahahahahahaha :-)