The Unborn Review

The newest craze in horror films is creepy children.
I don’t care who you are, creepy children is scary 9 times out of 10, but there is always one which is just so terrible, you wonder how it made it past the cutting room floor.
“The Unborn” is one of those films.
The remake of a Japanese horror film is a supernatural thriller that draws upon the legend of a dybbuk, a malevolent spirit that refuses to leave the human world and inhabits the body of a person.
Casey Beldon (Odette Yustman) is plagued by nightmares involving visions of scary-looking dogs and an evil child with bright blue eyes.
After being hit with a mirror by her neighbor’s son (yet another creepy child in the film), Casey’s eyes begin to change color and she learns she had a twin brother who died in the womb.
Casey discovers the spirit haunting her is the soul of her dead twin, being possessed by a dybbuk, wanting to be born so it can transfer to the world of the living.
Beldon goes to Rabbi Sendak (Gary Oldman), to help her perform a Jewish exorcism to remove the dybbuk, which leads to destruction, mayhem and death.
Normally, it would just be an average horror movie with a few scares here and there to at least make the film worth the money the audience spent to watch it.
Yustman’s acting brings down the entire film and she isn’t even required to act most of the film. She could just stand there and look pretty and get away with it, but no — she has to try to evoke emotion.
If I didn’t know any better, I would say her previous acting jobs included the time she was begging to stay out past curfew and told her parents her “life would be over” if they didn’t let her have it her way. She displays just about the same caliber of acting in this film.
Acting, even in horror films, should be somewhat realistic.
Actors should find a way to connect to the audience so they are involved in the film and care about whoever is being haunted by the ghost of their dead twin.
Yustman managed to get me involved in the film to the point where I wanted her to get taken over by the evil spirit so I wouldn’t have to deal with her whining anymore.
Meagan Good plays Yustman’s friend Romy, and also drove me insane through the film. She hopped from being a smart-alecky sidekick to terrified best friend every five minutes.
Oldman, a veteran actor, couldn’t even save the film. He is only in the movie for around 15 minutes, but he does his part well, as expected.
When I see a talented actor in a film like this I always want to write a letter asking if the money was just too good to be true or if they actually thought the film was going to be a step forward in their career.
I will give credit where credit is due in the film.
There were moments of real fright while I watched the 90-minute excuse for a horror movie. A few boo! moments here and there and a small amount scenes which crawl under your skin and creep you out. It is the best kind of scare — unfortunately there wasn’t enough to save this film from amounting to more than a wasted use of film.
It is my strong belief there are only a few good horror movies with a PG-13 rating. If the filmmakers are going to scare people, they have to employ some amount of gore. Horror also invokes reactions in people which don’t make them scream “Gee golly!” Dumbing down the fear factor dumbs down the movie.
You can’t expect a lot from a January film because this month is reserved as the time when the good films from Oscar season say goodbye. Do yourself a favor, stay at home and rent a good horror film.

Starring:Odette Yustman, Gary Oldman and Meagan Good
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and terror, disturbing images, thematic material and language including some sexual references.
Rating: One Star