The Unborn (2009)
The Unborn (2009)
When I watch films to review, it starts first with watching the film, in many cases re-watching a film that I have seen countless numbers of time in the past, I then research the film, reading over the technical and background details of the film, but also reading some of the reviews of the film as well. I feel that it is important when I review a film to never read the reviews before writing the review, as to be careful not to taint my own views on the film, and let my self come up with my own thoughts on the film, then when I read the reviews I will compare my thoughts to those of others, sometimes I will find myself agreeing with their reviews, other times I will find myself in disagreement with the critics (honestly I find myself disagreeing with the critics more than agreeing with them). So this is the second time I watched The Unborn, the first time I remember being impressed by it, then tonight I watched it again all of the elements must have been just right because it honestly spooked me a bit, and I am glad I am writing this review before I go to sleep, because otherwise I think I would be having some pretty fucked up nightmares. Maybe it is the red lights that are strung around the canopy of my bed being the only lights in the room, maybe it is living in a cabin in the woods of Maine on a haunted autumn night, or maybe it is just that I was in the right mood to really feel it, but this film worked tonight and I actually might have gotten a bit scared. The reason I mention the critics, is because this is a film that has mostly negative reviews, and quite an impressively low rating on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb, and after reading those reviews, I am happy to write a positive review on this modern horror film, maybe you will disagree, and there is nothing wrong with that, but there is just something about this film that works for me.
The Unborn is written and directed by David S. Goyer, and produced by Michael Bay. The film is distributed by Rogue Pictures domestically and Universal Pictures internationally. The Unborn was released in 2009 on a budget of $16 million, and was very successful in the box office, bringing in $76.5 million. The Unborn stars Odette Yustman as Casey Beldon, Meagan Good as her best friend Romy Marshall, Cam Gigandet as Mark Hardigan who is Casey's boyfriend, Gary Oldman plays Rabbi Joseph Sendak, Idris Elba plays Father Aurthur Wyndham, Jane Alexander plays Sofi Kozma who is a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp, and Ethan Cutkosky plays Barto (Sofi's twin brother who died in Auschwitz and came back from the dead resurrected buy a dybbuk, which is a demon).
Most possession/exorcism films are set in the Christian religion, primarily the Catholic religion, what sets this film apart however is that it is rooted in Jewish mythology, rather than the typical Christian mythology, which I think is a refreshing twist on this genre. Also, many exorcism films focus on the person being possessed by a demon, and trying to get the demon out of that person, where with this film the demon isn't actually in Casey, but is instead trying to wear her down so that I can take her, and I think that is interesting. The dybbuk uses everyone that she loves and cares about as a way to get to her, but can she be strong and rid herself from the demon? I also like the bringing in a more experienced Catholic priest, and the explaining that demons existed before religions, and that the demons though they might be named by certain religions, are not specifically of that religion, I like that because that is something that I have always thought about whether it be with vampires or demons, why are crosses and Christian chants and artifacts what are always effective. That brings me to a point, many critics have criticized this film for over explaining its concepts, and yes I can see that, but I do think that it works for this film, and leads to part of the interesting back story to the film.
This is a beautiful film, the sets are nicely done, and they are lit in such a way that helps to create a dark tone for the film, even in the brightly lit scenes, there is always something a little dark just beneath the surface. There are also some great creepy special effects. There is a creepy kid, dogs with upside down heads, and even an old man that walks on all fours with his head on backwards; all effects that will either work and look good or look silly and cheesy, and I think that this film walks that thin line, and I think to some these will be cheesy even laughable effects, but to me, my mind was in just the right place upon both viewings of this film that the effects work, and creeped me the hell out. Creepy children and old people always seem to affect me the most for some reason. I feel like the acting is decent in this film, not amazing, not even memorable really, but I do feel like I could feel Casey's fear through the acting of Odette Yustman, and I could sense this doubt of faith by Gary Oldman's character...maybe not doubt but an almost boredom of faith, and through Casey his faith gets stronger and energized. I also think the film has an a good and compelling story, and that the cast plays their parts well in bringing that story to life.
Overall I really do like this film, and can understand why it did so well in the box office. I feel like part of why it hasn't resonated with the critics is because they are getting so jaded by the over abundance of possession/exorcist horror films on the market at the time, I feel like this film is definitely tame in comparison to some of those. This film isn't full of gore, it isn't filled with gratuitous nudity, and even has pretty mild language, being that it is only a PG-13 film. The horror is more of a creepy style of horror and it gets you more by trying to get you to empathize with Casey, and to put yourself in her shoes, and in her eyes. This is a PG-13 horror film, and who knows maybe if was a hard R horror film, maybe the critics would have been more into it, but I think that it works as it is. This is not a teen horror film in the traditional sense, thought it is a film that is accessible, and marketed to that demographic. This is a lot better of a film than it gets credit for, and I hope I can encourage you to give it a chance, or even another chance if you have seen it before. Try to see this film through the eyes of the main character, feel her struggle to keep hold of her sanity, and I think that maybe then this film will work better for you. So next time you are looking for a nice creepy horror film, check out The Unborn, not the best or even most memorable horror film, but definitely worth watching, and a nice twist on the possessed/exorcism genre.
Most possession/exorcism films are set in the Christian religion, primarily the Catholic religion, what sets this film apart however is that it is rooted in Jewish mythology, rather than the typical Christian mythology, which I think is a refreshing twist on this genre. Also, many exorcism films focus on the person being possessed by a demon, and trying to get the demon out of that person, where with this film the demon isn't actually in Casey, but is instead trying to wear her down so that I can take her, and I think that is interesting. The dybbuk uses everyone that she loves and cares about as a way to get to her, but can she be strong and rid herself from the demon? I also like the bringing in a more experienced Catholic priest, and the explaining that demons existed before religions, and that the demons though they might be named by certain religions, are not specifically of that religion, I like that because that is something that I have always thought about whether it be with vampires or demons, why are crosses and Christian chants and artifacts what are always effective. That brings me to a point, many critics have criticized this film for over explaining its concepts, and yes I can see that, but I do think that it works for this film, and leads to part of the interesting back story to the film.
This is a beautiful film, the sets are nicely done, and they are lit in such a way that helps to create a dark tone for the film, even in the brightly lit scenes, there is always something a little dark just beneath the surface. There are also some great creepy special effects. There is a creepy kid, dogs with upside down heads, and even an old man that walks on all fours with his head on backwards; all effects that will either work and look good or look silly and cheesy, and I think that this film walks that thin line, and I think to some these will be cheesy even laughable effects, but to me, my mind was in just the right place upon both viewings of this film that the effects work, and creeped me the hell out. Creepy children and old people always seem to affect me the most for some reason. I feel like the acting is decent in this film, not amazing, not even memorable really, but I do feel like I could feel Casey's fear through the acting of Odette Yustman, and I could sense this doubt of faith by Gary Oldman's character...maybe not doubt but an almost boredom of faith, and through Casey his faith gets stronger and energized. I also think the film has an a good and compelling story, and that the cast plays their parts well in bringing that story to life.
Overall I really do like this film, and can understand why it did so well in the box office. I feel like part of why it hasn't resonated with the critics is because they are getting so jaded by the over abundance of possession/exorcist horror films on the market at the time, I feel like this film is definitely tame in comparison to some of those. This film isn't full of gore, it isn't filled with gratuitous nudity, and even has pretty mild language, being that it is only a PG-13 film. The horror is more of a creepy style of horror and it gets you more by trying to get you to empathize with Casey, and to put yourself in her shoes, and in her eyes. This is a PG-13 horror film, and who knows maybe if was a hard R horror film, maybe the critics would have been more into it, but I think that it works as it is. This is not a teen horror film in the traditional sense, thought it is a film that is accessible, and marketed to that demographic. This is a lot better of a film than it gets credit for, and I hope I can encourage you to give it a chance, or even another chance if you have seen it before. Try to see this film through the eyes of the main character, feel her struggle to keep hold of her sanity, and I think that maybe then this film will work better for you. So next time you are looking for a nice creepy horror film, check out The Unborn, not the best or even most memorable horror film, but definitely worth watching, and a nice twist on the possessed/exorcism genre.
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