The Unborn (2009 film)

The Unborno
International poster
Directed by	David S. Goyer
Produced by	Michael Bay Andrew Form Brad Fuller
Written by	David S. Goyer
Starring	Odette Yustman Gary Oldman Meagan Good Cam Gigandet James Remar Jane Alexander Idris Elba Michael Sassone
Music by	Ramin Djawadi
Cinematography	James Hawkinson
Studio	Platinum Dunes
Distributed by	Rogue Pictures Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	January 9, 2009 (US)
Running time	88 min. (Theatrical Cut) 89 min. (Unrated Cut)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	US$15 million
Box office	$75,915,793

The Unborn is a 2009 American supernatural horror-thriller film written and directed by David S. Goyer. The film stars Odette Yustman as a young woman who is tormented by a ghost (a dybbuk) and seeks help from a rabbi (Gary Oldman). The dybbuk seeks to use her death as a gateway to physical existence. The film is produced by Michael Bay and Platinum Dunes. It was released in American theaters on January 9, 2009, by Rogue Pictures.

Plot

Casey Beldon has nightmarish hallucinations of strange-looking dogs and an evil child with bright blue eyes. While babysitting Matty, her neighbor's son, she finds him showing his infant sibling its reflection in a mirror. Matty attacks Casey with the mirror and tells her, "Jumby wants to be born now."

Casey's friend Romy tells her of a superstition that newborns should not see their reflections 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. Her neighbor's infant dies, supporting the superstition.

Casey's father admits that she had a twin brother who died 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 haunting her is the soul of her dead twin wanting to be born so it can enter the world of the living.

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. 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 and Barto stabs in Romy's Stomach —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 wonders why the dybbuk became active in her life now. She learns that she is pregnant by Mark, with twins.

Cast

• Odette Yustman as Casey Beldon
• Gary Oldman as Rabbi Joseph Sendak
• Cam Gigandet as Mark Hardigan
• Meagan Good as Romy
• Jane Alexander as Sofi Kozma
• Idris Elba as Arthur Wyndham
• James Remar as Gordon Beldon
• Carla Gugino as Janet Beldon
• Atticus Shaffer as Matty Newton
• Ethan Cutkosky as Barto
• Rhys Coiro as Mr. Shields
• Michael Sassone as Eli Walker

Reception

The Unborn received an overwhelmingly negative reaction from critics. Based on 103 reviews collected from notable publications, the film garnered a rating of 11% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

Box office

In the U.S., the film opened at the third position, grossing $19,810,585 averaging $8,405 at 2,357 sites. It spent only eight weeks in release, and had a final gross of $42,670,410. Worldwide, the film has grossed $76,710,644 as of June 28, 2009.

Soundtrack

The Unborn: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Film score by Ramin Djawadi
Released	February 24, 2009
Genre	Soundtrack
Label	Lakeshore Records

The Unborn: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was composed by Ramin Djawadi.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Unborn"	4:17
2.	"The Glove"	2:07
3.	"Jumby Wants to Be Born Now"	1:24
4.	"Twins"	1:55
5.	"Mom's Room"	2:22
6.	"Barto"	2:12
7.	"Possessed"	3:15
8.	"Experiments"	3:34
9.	"Breakin' Mirrors"	2:18
10.	"Dybuk"	1:12
11.	"The Doorway's Open"	2:38
12.	"Sophie's Letter"	2:18
13.	"Medicine Cabinet"	1:59
14.	"Bugs"	2:01
15.	"Book of Mirrors"	2:27
16.	"Circle of Trust"	2:47
17.	"Hex or Schism"	4:43
18.	"Inhabit the Helpless"	1:13
19.	"Sefer Ha-Marot"	2:49
20.	"Casey"	1:22

Home media

The Unborn was released on DVD July 7, 2009 in Region 1 and on June 22, 2009 in Region 2. According to DVDTown, the DVD includes both the theatrical version (88 minutes) and the unrated cut (89 minutes). In addition to that, some deleted scenes are provided. The Blu-Ray version contains the DVD features plus two exclusive BD Live features.

External links

• Official Website
• Movie's Trailers
• The Unborn at AllRovi
• The Unborn at the Internet Movie Database
• The Unborn at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Unborn at Metacritic
• The Unborn at Box Office Mojo