The script tries hard to delve into the folklore of a dybbuk, and as it mixes this in with experiments on twins in concentration camps during WW2, the story becomes too convoluted for its own good.
Comment
02/27/09
The Unborn (2009)
12
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:103
Fresh:12
Rotten:91
Average Rating:3.2/10
Consensus: David Goyer's Unborn is a tame genre effort with cheap thrills and scares that border on silliness.
Australian Theatrical Release:
Feb 26, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $42,638,165
Synopsis: Sometimes the soul of a dead person has been so tainted with evil that it is denied entrance to heaven. It must endlessly wander the borderlands between worlds, desperately searching for a new body... [More]
Starring: Odette Yustman, Gary Oldman, Meagan Good, Idris Elba
Director: David Goyer
Reviews for The Unborn
Top CriticOdette Yustman, indeed all the cast, deserve a better fate than to be sucked into this misguided attempt at horror
02/23/09
Top CriticDespite some gruesome special effects, the telling of this story is so prosaic and predictable that genuine thrills are in very short supply.
02/27/09
Top CriticSome of the ideas here may seem original, if questionable, but the treatment -- by writer-director David Goyer -- is strictly conventional, with the shock moments obviously inserted at regular intervals, usually while the heroine is in her underwear.
03/06/09
Top CriticClick to read the article
02/27/09
Top CriticGoyer has penned many scripts superior to this one, but he does make sure you're never far away from a big 'Boo!'
01/14/09
Possession tale is low on blood, but high on scares.
01/09/09
If you're the kind of horror fan who gets your kicks from phantasmagorical imagery and shivers at the thought of supernatural forces beyond our realm of comprehension, you could do a lot worse than The Unborn.
01/09/09
It has a few really interesting ideas in it and a few good, old-fashioned scares (and very little camera shaking).
01/16/09
Like some Stephen King rewrite of 'The Reader,' this laughable but interesting movie traces its characters' distress to the Holocaust: Never forget, because 'Jumby wants to be born!'
01/16/09
Something arresting happens with The Unborn, attired in its generic, hand-me-down title. It actually scares you.
01/07/09
The Unborn is a baby-sitter horror flick (it's for and about them) with classic creep-out elements that unite in a surprisingly engrossing story.
01/09/09
A pretty young woman who looks especially fetching in her underwear is plagued by increasingly horrible dreams...at least, she thinks they're dreams until her whole life goes to hell. Some effective chills amidst the silliness.
01/09/09
Packed with very scary moments and very disturbing images, this is not for the faint-hearted - that includes me.
03/03/09
Somewhere Sigmund Freud is trying to figure out how he can come back from the dead just so he can analyze The Unborn! ...Crazy fun.
01/09/09
Despite some massive flaws and a disappointing over-reliance on jump scares, The Unborn is comfortably the best entry yet from Platinum Dunes, Michael Bay’s previously remake-happy horror production outfit.
02/27/09
Top CriticThis supernatural horror is nonsense on toast.
02/27/09
Top CriticThe Unborn isn't the worst horror film you'll see in 2009, but the prospect of a sequel (which the film teases at the finale), is probably the biggest fright in the 88 minutes.
03/06/09
Writer/director David S. Goyer, whose niche as a screenwriter is in adapting comic-book tales, gets a few frightening images into the frame, but they're all one-off shocks that do nothing to build tension.
01/09/09
This may dabble in Jewish mysticism and the legacy of the Nazi era but scratch the surface and you discover just another standard scary movie.
03/03/09
Latest News for The Unborn
July 06, 2009:
RT on DVD: Knowing, Push, The Unborn Unleashed
It's a genre lover's feast this week on DVD, but don't say we didn't warn you about those pesky rotten Tomatometers. First up? Alex Proyas's latest science fiction thriller,... More...
January 19, 2009:
Though some images are on the terrifying side, this mostly outlandish tale is riddled with homicidal tots, interdenominational exorcists, and attention deficit disorder dybuks who can't make up their mystical minds which body is cool enough to inhabit. 
More...
January 09, 2009:
Though some images are on the terrifying side, this mostly outlandish tale is riddled with homicidal tots, interdenominational exorcists, and attention deficit disorder dybuks who can't make up their mystical minds which body is cool enough to inhabit.
More...
January 08, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Say "I Don't" To Bride Wars
This week at the movies, we've got a bridal battle (Bride Wars, starring Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson); a cranky car enthusiast (Gran Torino, directed by and starring Clint... More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
Animated Oscar?
Hollywood.com ponders whether or not an animated film could win Best Picture.
Wes Anderson on Fox
The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Dressing Wonderland
Tim Burton's costume designer talks to Movieline about her long collaboration with the filmmaker and Johnny Depp.
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Competitions
Win 9 tickets
20 double passes to win to the new animated film, produced by Tim Burton.
Win Wild Things Tickets
Free double passes to join Spike Jonze's wild rumpus.
IGN RSS Feeds