Daniel
01-12-2009, 01:09 PM
The Unborn
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2009-01/44420752.jpg
"Jumby wants to be born now"
I really don't want to make this review too long. I say that because you have all seen this movie several times in the last few years if you have seen "The Eye," "The Ring," or "One Missed Call" or any of the other cheap-scare horror flicks [although I wouldn't necessarily deride "the Ring" to be just that] that have come out in the past few years.
Having said that, you can pretty much decide here and now if you want to see this movie based on what I have already stated. Again, I say this because if you like movies that "The Unborn" borrows from, then you won't be displeased with it and will likely get enjoyment out of it. If you are more interested in your off-kilter or imaginative horror titles ["The Descent," "Let the Right One In," etc.] then you may find yourself insulted if you choose to watch "The Unborn."
Having said that, the plot is made obvious by all the promos and advertisement that has flooded the market. Odette Yustman [last seen in "Cloverfield"] plays a college student in Chicago plagued by strange dreams that suddenly begin to intensify, resulting in nightmarish visions she has while awake. As the story unfolds, she finds that her umbilical cord strangled her twin brother [nicknamed "Jumby" though it sounds like "Gumby" throughout he film] and that he "wants to be born now." Turns out that ol' Jumby is actually a demon [called a dybbuk in the film] who is exacting revenge on the entire family because Yustman's grandmother expelled the dybbuk when it possessed her twin brother.
The dybbuk is intent on not only re-entering our world, but also on exacting revenge on the family members and the people who try to help them. Most of the film revolves around the dybbuk growing in power, and then stalking and killing Yustman's friends and family members.
The movie felt as though puzzle pieces were just kind of thrown at you. They all fit but, when put together, they don't make one neat picture. There were continuity problems The dybbuk can only possess a dead people. After the grandmother's twin brother dies, the dybbuk possesses him, re-animating the boy's body. Grandma expels the dybbuk for several years by killing her possessed, re-animated brother. This doesn't seem to work a few years later as people possessed by the dybbuk are killed or seriously wounded and the dybbuk now can suddenly just ump to another person, even if they are alive.
Yustman's camel toe was actually the most consistent character in the film as everyone else just seemed convenient for the plot to carry on. Even Gary Oldman's presence in the film felt completely lackluster and everyone else was just one-dimensional and flat. Oddly enough, the dad of Yustman's character is only around in one or two scenes, providing a short list of information regarding his wife and what happened to Jumby, then he altogether disappears.
Still, despite its flaws, "The Unborn" managed to be better than some of its predecessors in the enjoyability range, but "The Unborn" is something you probably just want to rent if you happen to be with a bunch of people who want to watch a good, "jump-when-something-pops-out" film.
4/10.
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2009-01/44420752.jpg
"Jumby wants to be born now"
I really don't want to make this review too long. I say that because you have all seen this movie several times in the last few years if you have seen "The Eye," "The Ring," or "One Missed Call" or any of the other cheap-scare horror flicks [although I wouldn't necessarily deride "the Ring" to be just that] that have come out in the past few years.
Having said that, you can pretty much decide here and now if you want to see this movie based on what I have already stated. Again, I say this because if you like movies that "The Unborn" borrows from, then you won't be displeased with it and will likely get enjoyment out of it. If you are more interested in your off-kilter or imaginative horror titles ["The Descent," "Let the Right One In," etc.] then you may find yourself insulted if you choose to watch "The Unborn."
Having said that, the plot is made obvious by all the promos and advertisement that has flooded the market. Odette Yustman [last seen in "Cloverfield"] plays a college student in Chicago plagued by strange dreams that suddenly begin to intensify, resulting in nightmarish visions she has while awake. As the story unfolds, she finds that her umbilical cord strangled her twin brother [nicknamed "Jumby" though it sounds like "Gumby" throughout he film] and that he "wants to be born now." Turns out that ol' Jumby is actually a demon [called a dybbuk in the film] who is exacting revenge on the entire family because Yustman's grandmother expelled the dybbuk when it possessed her twin brother.
The dybbuk is intent on not only re-entering our world, but also on exacting revenge on the family members and the people who try to help them. Most of the film revolves around the dybbuk growing in power, and then stalking and killing Yustman's friends and family members.
The movie felt as though puzzle pieces were just kind of thrown at you. They all fit but, when put together, they don't make one neat picture. There were continuity problems The dybbuk can only possess a dead people. After the grandmother's twin brother dies, the dybbuk possesses him, re-animating the boy's body. Grandma expels the dybbuk for several years by killing her possessed, re-animated brother. This doesn't seem to work a few years later as people possessed by the dybbuk are killed or seriously wounded and the dybbuk now can suddenly just ump to another person, even if they are alive.
Yustman's camel toe was actually the most consistent character in the film as everyone else just seemed convenient for the plot to carry on. Even Gary Oldman's presence in the film felt completely lackluster and everyone else was just one-dimensional and flat. Oddly enough, the dad of Yustman's character is only around in one or two scenes, providing a short list of information regarding his wife and what happened to Jumby, then he altogether disappears.
Still, despite its flaws, "The Unborn" managed to be better than some of its predecessors in the enjoyability range, but "The Unborn" is something you probably just want to rent if you happen to be with a bunch of people who want to watch a good, "jump-when-something-pops-out" film.
4/10.