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The Unborn

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The Unborn (2009)

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Reviews Counted:14

Fresh:2

Rotten:12

Average Rating:3.6/10

Consensus: David Goyer's Unborn is a tame genre effort with cheap thrills and scares that border on silliness.

Australian Rating: M [See Full Rating] Horror themes and infrequent coarse language

Runtime: 88 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

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... 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 to inhabit.

And sometimes it actually succeeds.

Writer/director David Goyer (Blade: Trinity, The Invisible, Batman Begins) gives a terrifying glimpse into the life of the undead in The Unborn, a supernatural thriller that follows a young woman pulled into a world of nightmares when a demonic spirit haunts her and threatens everyone she loves.

Casey Beldon (Odette Yustman) hated her mother for leaving her as a child. But when inexplicable things start to happen, Casey begins to understand why she left. Plagued by merciless dreams and a tortured ghost that haunts her waking hours, she must turn to the only spiritual advisor, Sendak (Gary Oldman), who can make it stop.

With Sendak's help, Casey uncovers the source of a family curse dating back to Nazi Germany--a creature with the ability to inhabit anyone or anything that is getting stronger with each possession. With the curse unleashed, her only chance at survival is to shut a doorway from beyond our world that has been pried open by someone who was never born. --© Rogue Pictures [More]

Starring: Odette Yustman, Gary Oldman, Meagan Good, Idris Elba

Starring: Odette Yustman, Gary Oldman, Meagan Good, Idris Elba, Cam Gigandet, James Remar, Jane Alexander

Director: David Goyer

Director: David Goyer
Screenwriter: David Goyer
Producer: Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller
Composer: Ramin Djawadi
Studio: Rogue Arts

[See More Credits]

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    I Need an Exorcism
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    Escaping the Exorcism Room
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    Jumby Wants to be Born
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    Exorcism Authorization
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1 - 4 of 6

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Reviews for The Unborn

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1 - 11 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Some 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.

Full Review Source: The Australian | comment Comment
03/06/09
David Stratton
David Stratton
The Australian
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | comment Comment
02/27/09
Andrew J. McGlinn
Andrew J. McGlinn
FILMINK (Australia)
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Despite some gruesome special effects, the telling of this story is so prosaic and predictable that genuine thrills are in very short supply.

Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment Comment
02/27/09
David Stratton
David Stratton
At the Movies (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Odette Yustman, indeed all the cast, deserve a better fate than to be sucked into this misguided attempt at horror

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
02/23/09
Andrew L. Urban
Andrew L. Urban
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
02/27/09
Tom Ambrose
Tom Ambrose
Empire Magazine
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It’s hard to imagine a more ham-fisted attempt at the genre of ‘womb horror’ than this flat-footed supernatural drama with a Jewish twist.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
02/27/09
Wendy Ide
Wendy Ide
Times [UK]
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A scary movie so fantastically stupid and crass it made my skull contract and my sinuses harden to the consistency of pipe-cleaners.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
02/27/09
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
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Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
02/27/09
Empire Magazine
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
02/27/09
Times [UK]
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A laughably bad horror flick involving demonic possession, concentration camps and torturous genetic experiments.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
01/09/09
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Before long, the connective tissue between scares starts to call attention to its own preposterousness.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
01/09/09
Peter Debruge
Peter Debruge
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

About the only thing here that will haunt your dreams is the film's final scene, which conveniently portends a sequel.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
01/09/09
Glenn Whipp
Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Times
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The film teeters so perilously and routinely at the edge of camp, both with some of its casting choices and some unfortunate dialogue...that it's hard to know if Mr. Goyer wants to make us howl with fear or laughter.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/09/09
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
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1 - 11 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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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. Opens in new window
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. Opens in new window
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...

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