by Sandra Parker

Created on: May 03, 2009

I had such high expectations for the Unborn. The previews touted this movie as one that I thought would really send the American public running for the theater exits midway through the movie, however, I was truly disappointed.

First of all, I would like to give an acknowledgement to the script. It was well written and would have made for a fantastic movie had a better cast been chosen to deliver it. I was unimpressed by the relatively unknown actors that were chosen for this movie and their inability to be convincing. Many suspenseful scenes were destroyed by the helplessness of the heroine and her inability to do anything for herself. The story, if remade by a capable director and cast, would have had a much better reception, at least from me.

So, for a run down of the nuts and bolts of this movie. I really got the references to World War II and the atrocities of the concentration camps being the catalyst for the crossing over of the evil spirit. And I loved the superstitious nature of the heroine's best friend used to explain the phenomenon she was experiencing. In watching a ghost flick, I would much rather the director spend more time on the "boo" factor than blood and gore and this movie did just that. The special effects, even though were computer animated, were pretty convincing.

It was the lackluster acting that truly burned this movie to the ground. The only actor in this movie that had any acting ability at all was Meagan Goode as Romy. I felt as though she truly believed in all the supernatural psychobabble she preached to Casey (Odette Yustman). Odette should really go back to acting school and learn how to portray emotion. Most of her delivery was rehearsed and deadpan, not at all convincing. And Cam Gigandet's performance, while not particularly memorable, felt vaguely familiar, probably because I had seen the same kind of performance from him in the other disappoint this year, Twilight. Gary Oldman delivered a predictably decent performance. One truly stand out character was Jane Alexander as Sofi. Not only did I believe that this lady was a Holocaust survivor, but that she was truly being haunted by the ghost of her brother. Kudos to Jane!

All in all, I can't say that I would recommend this movie to anyone. It was an okay, one-time watch, but I have to say that I probably won't be purchasing the DVD any time soon.

Learn more about this author, Sandra Parker.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.