The Unborn

I am an average Horror/Sci-Fi/Thriller/Creature Feature movie buff. I am 62 and have seen them all including the Asian Creature Features to the Nordic Horrors. I will give anyone their right to an opinion....but.....the rating system on many of the movies on this sight have been skewed by someone having a bad day.

Very few Horror et.al.movies make it to the Oscars. 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. So skip the ratings and watch the movie. (And don't forget the popcorn.)

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. I thought she did a very good job at showing the fear in the character. Hayenga is also good in his bit and of course Karen is always worth watching no matter what he's in. I think the biggest problem with the film is the screenplay. 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. This really hurt the Adams' character because I really didn't like her and I certainly never cared about her. I think the film is borrowing from ROSEMARY'S BABY but instead of Satan we've got evil DNA working. I thought there were a few effective scenes including some of the murders, which were quite dark and chilling. I'd also say that director Rodman Flender at least builds up a dark atmosphere. With that said, even at 80-minutes this thing drags pretty badly and in the end it's best to just watch the Polanski classic or even IT'S ALIVE instead. Of course, if you do decide to watch this you'll get to see both Lisa Kudrow and Kathy Griffin years before fame.

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. I saw every "twist" coming. The direction is poor--he seems to have no idea how to shoot a basic scene. The production values are--to be nice--lousy. Very shabby. 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. The film completely derails at the end when it becomes quite clear they had no idea HOW to end this film.

Some good acting makes it somewhat bearable. Adams, Hayenga and Karen are all good at their roles and kept me watching but that was about it. This film barely got released in 1991 and still remains unknown--it's easy to see why. I give it a 4.

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. I do not agree with the comparison with the masterpiece "Rosemary's Baby", since the stories are totally different, having in common only the pregnancy of something weird. I found this movie a good entertainment. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "O Bebê Maldito" ("The Damned Baby")

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. Also, bit parts from both Lisa Kudrow (pre-"Friends") and the perpetual D-lister Kathy Griffin. Add to that Roger Corman as producer, and you have a few choice names...

The concept of the villain being an evil geneticist connected to the Human Genome Project... not sure if that is brilliant, silly or inadvertent fear-mongering. Looking back twenty years, we now know the Human Genome Project was completely safe and taught us many valuable things (and I did not know it used any human subjects). Maybe in 1991 they did not understand it?

The film seems to be strongly influenced by "Rosemary's Baby", as it follows a pregnant mother with who-knows-what growing inside her. Of course, this film is not about satanists... at least, not that I know of.