The Unborn
What?
Casey Beldon (Odette Yustman) is a teenager experiencing disturbing visions of a young deceased boy, with no idea who he is, or why he is making himself seen. After babysitting for a neighbour, she is then attacked by their four-year old son, who simply tells her “Jumby wants to be born now”. With her sanity at risk, she begins to question her past, and discovers that her mother’s suicide covered a deep, dark secret that could provide clues to this sudden and disturbing visitation. Casey also learns that the young boy is in fact host to a ‘Dybbuk’, an evil presence that wishes to enter our world, and that she has been chosen as a doorway in. Turning to Rabbi Sendak (Gary Oldman) for help, she is advised that in order to stop this supposed presence from succeeding; she will need to undergo an elaborate exorcism that could end in tragedy. With the fate of the world on her young shoulders, can she prove herself stronger than her fears, or will she fail to stop this horror from wreaking havoc?
Optics:
I’m very pleased to say that this Blu-ray disc boasts and almost perfect picture which at no point suffers from grain, edge enhancement or excessive DNR. Colours are well balanced, black levels are consistent and exterior shots provide huge detail and crisp landscapes.
Sonics:
With a well-rounded and dimensional DTS-MA track bringing the jumps and scares, this is an audio mix that holds up well. The dialogue needed extra volume to remain clear, but when the action kicked in, there was plenty of depth and powerful LFE, to bring the room to life. If you like good DTS audio (and who doesn’t!) then you’ll be happy with this offering.
Extras:
With only a handful of deleted scenes on offer, it’s a pretty poor addition to a pretty lame film.
Well?
The Unborn was written and directed by David S.Goyer, a name synonymous with the Batman Begins and Blade franchises, so expectation was probably high when this was released in cinemas. I’m sad to say that my own initial excitement was soon dampened after watching the story drag on for almost forty minutes before anything substantial happened. Instead of character development, there was too much focus on shooting gratuitous semi-naked scenes with Odette Yustman attempting to convey emotional instability, only to come off like a walking brand clotheshorse, overriding any degree of suspense potentially available. The other disappointment was the obvious poaching of original horror concepts, which only reduced the films plausibility to the point of plain daft. Given David S. Goyer’s vast writing experience and proven skill, this outing fails to bring anything new to the genre and is probably best forgotten, so if you need to witness the film for yourself then a rental is strongly advised.
Neil Egan-Ronayne
Casey Beldon (Odette Yustman) is a teenager experiencing disturbing visions of a young deceased boy, with no idea who he is, or why he is making himself seen. After babysitting for a neighbour, she is then attacked by their four-year old son, who simply tells her “Jumby wants to be born now”. With her sanity at risk, she begins to question her past, and discovers that her mother’s suicide covered a deep, dark secret that could provide clues to this sudden and disturbing visitation. Casey also learns that the young boy is in fact host to a ‘Dybbuk’, an evil presence that wishes to enter our world, and that she has been chosen as a doorway in. Turning to Rabbi Sendak (Gary Oldman) for help, she is advised that in order to stop this supposed presence from succeeding; she will need to undergo an elaborate exorcism that could end in tragedy. With the fate of the world on her young shoulders, can she prove herself stronger than her fears, or will she fail to stop this horror from wreaking havoc?
Optics:
I’m very pleased to say that this Blu-ray disc boasts and almost perfect picture which at no point suffers from grain, edge enhancement or excessive DNR. Colours are well balanced, black levels are consistent and exterior shots provide huge detail and crisp landscapes.
Sonics:
With a well-rounded and dimensional DTS-MA track bringing the jumps and scares, this is an audio mix that holds up well. The dialogue needed extra volume to remain clear, but when the action kicked in, there was plenty of depth and powerful LFE, to bring the room to life. If you like good DTS audio (and who doesn’t!) then you’ll be happy with this offering.
Extras:
With only a handful of deleted scenes on offer, it’s a pretty poor addition to a pretty lame film.
Well?
The Unborn was written and directed by David S.Goyer, a name synonymous with the Batman Begins and Blade franchises, so expectation was probably high when this was released in cinemas. I’m sad to say that my own initial excitement was soon dampened after watching the story drag on for almost forty minutes before anything substantial happened. Instead of character development, there was too much focus on shooting gratuitous semi-naked scenes with Odette Yustman attempting to convey emotional instability, only to come off like a walking brand clotheshorse, overriding any degree of suspense potentially available. The other disappointment was the obvious poaching of original horror concepts, which only reduced the films plausibility to the point of plain daft. Given David S. Goyer’s vast writing experience and proven skill, this outing fails to bring anything new to the genre and is probably best forgotten, so if you need to witness the film for yourself then a rental is strongly advised.
Neil Egan-Ronayne
Director:
David S.Goyer
Starring:
Gary Oldman
Odette Yustman
Meagan Good
Cam Gigandet
Best line:
"It’s not safe to be around me."
Tagline:
"Evil will do anything to live."
Description:
Universal
UK
Region B
Rated 15
1Hr 27mins
2.40:1
DTS-HD MA 5.1
Deleted scenes
Theatrical cut
Ratings: (Out of 10)
Film 4.0
Optics 9.0
Sonics 8.0
Extras 1.0
Overall 5.0
