The Unborn

Plot synopsis:
Casey Beldon has nightmarish hallucinations of strange-looking dogs in the neighbourhood and an evil child with bright blue eyes following her around. While babysitting Matty, her neighbor's son, she finds him showing his infant sibling its reflection in a mirror. Matty attacks Casey, smashing the mirror on her head, and tells her: "Jumby wants to be born now". She puts him to bed and leaves in shock.
Casey's friend Romy tells her of a superstition that newborns should not see their reflections in the mirror for at least a year because otherwise they will die soon. Casey's eyes begin to change color; a doctor asks if she is a twin, and explains the change as tetragametic chimerism and heterochromia, and that is completely normal. Her neighbor's infant dies, supporting the superstition.
Casey's father admits that she had a twin brother years ago who died while he was in the womb when her umbilical cord strangled him, and whom he and Casey's mother had nicknamed "Jumby". She begins to suspect that the spirit is haunting her and that is the soul of her dead twin wanting to be born so it can enter the world of the living as evil.
Casey meets Sofi Kozma—whom she later learns is her grandmother—who explains that as a child she had a twin brother who died during Nazi experiments in Auschwitz during World War II. A dybbuk brought the brother back to life to use as a portal into the world of the living. Kozma killed her twin to stop the spirit, and now it haunts her family for revenge, which is why Casey's mother became insane and committed suicide.
Kozma gives Casey a hamsa amulet for protection; instructs her to destroy all mirrors and burn the shards; and refers her to Rabbi Joseph Sendak, who can perform a Jewish exorcism to remove the dybbuk out of her soul. Sendak does not believe Casey's story until he sees a dog with its head twisted upside down in his synagogue. The dybbuk kills Kozma and, soon after, Romy. Casey and her boyfriend Mark—who both see the spirit after it kills Romy—realize that it is getting stronger.
Sendak, Mark, Episcopal priest Arthur Wyndham, and other volunteers begin the exorcism, but the dybbuk attacks them and several are wounded or killed. The spirit, having possessed the priest, chases Casey and Mark. Mark knocks Wyndham unconscious but gets possessed. Casey stabs Mark in the neck with the amulet; Sendak arrives and he and Casey complete the exorcism. The rite draws the dybbuk out of the human world, but Mark falls and dies during the separation.
Casey mourns her boyfriend but still wonders why the dybbuk became suddenly active in her life now, and why it didn't attack her earlier. She takes a pregnancy test, and learns that she is pregnant by Mark, with twins.

Tags: cult

Review:
So what...those of us who are fanatics of these films have an odd sense of appreciation for the unbelievable.The Unborn is a good movie....I like Brooke Adams....I like mad scientists...I like freaky things that squish in the night...I like house wives that are slightly nuts....I like husbands who don't have a clue....I like Lisa Kudrow (did you see her????) Those of you who want to sit back and watch a really good Sci-Fi/Horror will have fun with this one.
James Karen & Brooke Adams are in the film and they performed quite well.
Though I think you must be a horror fan to watch this because of the scenes and the plot.
There is one brief sex scene with no nudity that could have been left out and to some people this scene may disappoint someone like Me that's into the film and thinks that stuff ruins a good film but that's it when it comes to that.
There is a scene where Adams' character goes nuts and kills a cat but you can tell its not real.
The unfertile Virginia (Brooke Adams) and her husband, Brad Marshall (Jeff Hayenga), decide to join an experimental in-vitro fertilization program developed by Dr. Richard Meyerling (James Karen).
The trial succeeds, but along the pregnancy, Virginia finds that something weird is happening with the fetus."The Unborn" is a very reasonable low-budget horror movie.
Bizarre in some moments, grotesque in others, and dark as a whole, this movie has a very strong and disturbing scene, when a pregnant woman stabs herself in the belly.
Therefore, it is certainly not recommended to pregnant women watch this film.
This is a disturbing horror film - not for all tastes and definitely not for the faint of heart!
"The Unborn" is much more poignantly frightening than "Rosemary's Baby" primarily because of the brilliant, sharply spooky musical score by the "Godfather of Electronica" - Gary Numan - and the very graphic, shocking, and adrenaline-releasing final moments of the film; however, poor production standards and not the greatest acting (has somewhat of a B-Movie flavour) prevent the film from becoming one of the better films of its kind (like the aforementioned).
The Unborn is a pretty good low-budget horror movie exploiting the fears associated with pregnancy.
It's very well acted by the always-good Brooke Adams and b-movie stalwart James Karen, although the supporting cast is pretty average for a b-grader.
Slightly irrelevant and pointless, but nevertheless interesting little footnote to start off this user comment with: this movie contains a sex sequence that could have come straight out a Kama-Sutra encyclopedia.
The couple makes love in a rocking chair and – believe it or not – but it's fairly elegant and passionately filmed, which is the last thing I expected to see in an obscure early 90's B-movie so kudos!
The patients, including the writer of children's books Virginia Marshall, soon begin to have strange side-effects, like a burning rash in their necks.
Virginia, who has been rational and even somewhat skeptical about the whole in-vitro fertilization method since the beginning, quickly understands that this thing growing inside of her is something evil and uncontrollable and she becomes obsessed with the idea losing her baby.
The script contains a handful of highly imaginative little details, like for example the malignant doctor corresponding with his evil embryos through hidden messages in the specially prepared relax tapes.
Of course, it's fairly easy to show shocking images in a film dealing with pregnant women and unborn babies.
A couple (Brooke Adams and Jeff Hayenga) who cannot have children joins an in-vitro fertilization program.
While she is with child, she finds strange occurrences happening within her body.Always nice to see James Karen ("Return of the Living Dead") in another genre film.
The film seems to be strongly influenced by "Rosemary's Baby", as it follows a pregnant mother with who-knows-what growing inside her.
A childless couple (Brooke Adams, Jeff Hayenga) go to a doctor (James Karen) to try to conceive.
It works but Adams slowly becomes aware that there's something seriously wrong with the baby...Pretty interesting idea is thoroughly done in by a lousy script--the basic idea is OK but becomes screamingly predictable towards the end.
And, the gore scenes are too unpleasant (I almost turned it off when a pregnant woman started stabbing herself in the stomach) with lousy special effects.
Adams, Hayenga and Karen are all good at their roles and kept me watching but that was about it.
THE UNBORN is the story of Virginia Marshall (Brooke Adams- SHOCK WAVES, THE DEAD ZONE, SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK) and her many, fruitless attempts to get pregnant.
She and her husband go to see Dr. Meyerling (James Karen- POLTERGEIST, THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD), who offers an answer to Virginia's problem.
Then, Virginia's friend, who also happens to be a Meyerling client, experiences a case of EHCS (Eeevil Homicidal Child Syndrome), and another patient contacts Virginia w/ disturbing information, causing her to suspect that something nefarious is going on.
The best part of the movie comes when Virginia appears on a live, morning talk show, only to go totally berserk!
This film did have real potential; a woman who can't have a baby goes to a doctor for in-vitro fertilization, but unfortunately the doctor is a madman who happens to be breeding a race of super-humans, and of course, it's all down hill from there.The build-up is simply amazing.
Brooke Adams does an amazing job of a woman who is giving birth to something that she knows isn't normal.
The film is extremely gory, and since the film is gore-fest from start to finish, then you can excuse the bad final scenes.
Although it's a let-down, it's a fun movie to watch with friends if you have some time to kill..
At times, The Unborn comes across as two separate films that got spliced together.
On one hand, there is a genuinely disturbing psychological thriller / satire with great performances, while on the other there is a cheap B-level gore film.Adams and her husband have been unable to conceive a child, so they go to James Karen's fertility clinic.
Unfortunately, the child she conceives has some issues of its own.At many points, the actors, particularly Adams, appear to be acting in an entirely different movie.
Her meltdown scene, had it been in a straight drama rather than a low budget horror movie, would have earned her an Academy Award nomination.
I like gory horror movies, but it steals from It's Alive and Rosemary's Baby so blatantly it's not even funny.
The special effects budget is so low that the film comes across as funny rather than scary..
The Unborn (1991) * 1/2 (out of 4) A couple (Brooke Adams, Jeff Hayenga) unable to have children of their own go to a doctor (James Karen) who is experimenting with fertilization.
The experiment works and the woman finds herself pregnant but soon she begins losing her mind fearing that the baby is pretty much eating through her.
THE UNBORN is a pretty bad movie from start to finish but I can admit that there are a few effective things in it as well as several good performances.
I thought the actors were about the best thing going for the movie and this includes Adams who is extremely good and believable as the mother who soon realizes that all of her fears are coming true.
Hayenga is also good in his bit and of course Karen is always worth watching no matter what he's in.
I think the film gets off to a very bad start because we're supposed to like this couple but I must admit that I didn't care for them a bit.
I think the film is borrowing from ROSEMARY'S BABY but instead of Satan we've got evil DNA working.
i watched this film many years ago and have searched for it ever since in my opinion although very raw it is very educational as to what the future can hold i enjoyed the movie and to this this day rate it very high sorry to all those that disagree but a movie should always be judged each to there own and in my opinion its great give it a go with all the cloning and test tube babies that are happening today who are we to judge this film, this may be a dramatised event of what is to become but there you go.
All the horrors of today are so far fetched even i laugh but this one gets me thinking and it scares me as a mother what if i was desperate,after watching this movie i would think twice sorry but i love the movie make your own mind up don't watch the movie making- just aknowledge the story and ask yourself this how far would you go for a child?.
Corman probably laughed all the way to the bank when he produced this one.Brooke Adams plays an infertile woman who goes to a fertility specialist (James Karen) in order to conceive.
What she doesn't know is that Karen is a DNA researcher who's been using the women who come to his clinic in order to create a new race of superbabies by altering the husband's sperm.
The medication that he gives them causes some strange side effects such as hallucinations and a rash that breaks out on the side of their necks.Over the top scenes include:Adam's fetus stabbing a pen into the eye of her stupid husband.
I chose 'The Unborn' as my Halloween night scary movie to watch with a friend.
It was scary alright, but not in a good way.Brooke Adams (my favorite under-appreciated actress who was so wonderful in 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers') stars as an infertile writer eager to conceive of a child with her husband.
This in spite of the fact that he sports an atrocious 'Halloween Hobo' beard.At a spartan 'Coma' like clinic, Adams and hubby are directed by a young and brunette Lisa Kudrow to a meeting with fatherly physician James Karen where they are told that they can have a child through a special in-vitro method he has devised.Faster than you can say 'Rosemary's Baby,' Adams is suffering all manner of unfortunate pregnancy symptoms, all leading her to conclude that she is the victim of some horrible plot.
The 'music' score is that kind of repetitive electronica noise found in every low-grade sci-fi film from the 80's.The plot is provocative but submarined by predictability, moronic dialog and the necessity for characters to veer from intelligent to idiotic at whim.It's pretty much 'Alien' meets 'Rosemary's Baby' meets 'The Devil Within' meets 'The Brood' meets 'The Bad Seed.' Corman was never one for originality.* SPOILER*My friend and I found the film worthwhile chiefly for providing the public with an opportunity to see annoying comic Kathy Griffin get beaten to death with a hammer.
It's a good thing I didn't watch this while i was pregnant.I definitely would have cried my eyes out and/or vomit.
I personally thought the baby was adorable in its own twisted little way.However as a mom I cringed when Beth stabbed herself in the stomach and when Virgina aborted the child during her 3rd trimester with rusty utensils no less.Also,as an animal lover i almost cried when she scratched the cat to a bloody pulp.However,As creepy and sinister as the baby was I was rooting for it to live.And as twisted as the movie was I am extremely intrigued to see the sequel......
THE UNBORN is a horror film containing lots of slow-burning dread and fear and a few moments of graphic horror to make up for the slow pacing and routine plot that the rest of the production offers.
Characters are poorly-defined and set up to fall and the climax is let down by some really cheesy special effects of a killer baby which looks like nothing more than a rubbery doll.
The script is over-wordy and the film let down by the central casting of Brooke Adams (INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS) who overplays it by overacting during the sequence in which she throws a tantrum and wrecks her house and proves to be unlikeable at other times, meaning that you never really care for her character.
Brad Blaisdell, who plays her husband, is wooden and dull throughout, so his eventual death is not so much shocking as a much-needed case of "just desserts".The only actor of note in the proceedings is RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD's James Karen, but even he is wasted in the small role of the sinister scientist who causes all the aggro in the first place.
THE UNBORN does deserve kudos for being brave enough to include one sick scene in which a woman stabs herself in her own pregnant stomach repeatedly but otherwise is a bit of a missed opportunity, following a well-worn and predictable route to a rather lame and tired conclusion.
"The Unborn" is a huge misstep of a horror film.**SPOILERS**Having trouble with conceiving children, Virginia Marshall, (Brooke Adams) and her husband Brad, (Jeff Heyenga) decide to visit Dr. Richard Meyerling, (James Karen) a fertility specialist with a high success rate.
After undergoing a procedure, she finds out that she is pregnant with their child, and the two begin preparing their out in anticipation of the arrival of the baby.
Finally discovering that the baby's change was indeed through the doctor, she sets off to get rid of the baby and get her life back.The Good News: There really isn't a whole lot here to like.
The last ten minutes are it's best, with the realization about what has happened and the determination to avenge it coming up with some really good minor action sequences in a secret laboratory filled with a quite creepy surprise and a really decent car-crash at the end.
Other than that, there really isn't a whole lot here that was enjoyable.The Bad News: It gets points for it's clever set-up, but the fact still remains that this was a painful film to sit through.
Most of the time in the beginning is spent on the ways they're preparing for the baby, which is a realistic touch but just slows the film down to a crawl.
More time should've been spent with the last part of the movie, which is quite good and it's only redeeming feature, and a feature-length adaptation of that kind of scares would've certainly been far more fun to sit through.
This was just a really disappointing and dull film.The Final Verdict: While it does have a pretty interesting set-up and premise, unfortunately this thing falters as there's a real lack of any real horror and it's just a long, drawn-out affair.
Creepy Baby Movie..
A couple who cannot have children decide to go to a clinic for a little help conceiving a baby.
Before long, the mother starts having eerie symptoms hinting that something is not right with the fetus, and soon after she discovers that she is the victim of a heinous genetic engineering experiment involving the creation of super-human babies.
A somewhat drowsy approach to the killer baby genre, the first hour moves along well with a descent story about an unstable woman who thinks a monster is growing inside of her, but may just be going insane.
The killer baby is quite fake looking, and nothing really seems to happen in the big finale.
The final scene, however, is good.
Brooke Adams carries the movie, and James Karen is good in his role as the evil doctor, even though he is given little to do.
Lisa Kudrow appears in one of her early pre-Friends B-movie roles, and Kathy Griffin co-starred in this before she broke through with her stand-up "comedy" act.
The Unborn tells the tale of a married couple named Virginia (Brooke Adames) & Bradley Marshall (Jeff Hayenga) who have tried for the last five years to conceive, Virginia has had two miscarriages since then & is desperate to have a child.
Virginia begins to question just what is growing inside of her...Produced & directed by Rodman Flender I actually thought The Unborn was a decent horror/thriller (it's DEFINITELY NOT a sci-fi film as the IMDb would have you believe) that pleasantly surprised me.
The Unborn goes for psychological horror rather than cheap scares & bad special effects, it's got quite a clever story that works & plays on basic human fears.
Also, I have to mention it, what on Erath was that grinning black skateboarding dwarf all about eh?!Director Flender does an OK job, The Unborn is far from the most stylish or visually interesting film ever made but it's good enough.
The atmosphere is good & there's a fair bit of tension as what Virginia has inside of her & Dr. Meyerling's sinister plans aren't fully revealed until the last possible moment.
Disappointingly the blood & gore is almost non existent which in a way lets the film down because in retrospect nothing really memorable happens, The Unborn relies on good storytelling which is fine but in a week I doubt I'll remember too much about it.Technically the film is OK, I'd imagine that The Unborn had a pretty low budget but it's well made even if it's a little bland & forgettable.
The baby creature is actually a decent special effect & has fairly realistic facial movement.
The acting is good & this was one of the first acting jobs credited to Friends (1994 - 2004) star Lisa Kudrow, I have to be honest I don't like Friends & I don't even know who she was in this so I can't tell you how she did.The Unborn is a good horror/thriller that deserves to be more widely known & seen, it's far better than a lot of low budget crap that litter video shop shelves.
If your a horror fan & are looking for something a bit different, something slightly more intelligent & thought provoking than usual then I think you could do a lot worse than The Unborn.