The Unborn

Directed by David S. Goyer.
2009. Rated PG-13, 89 minutes.
Cast:
Odette Yustman
Meagan Good
Jane Alexander
Gary Oldman
Carla Gugino
Idris Elba
James Remar
Ethan Cutkosky

Plot: After a succession of nightmares, ghastly visions and strange occurrences, Casey (Yustman) tries to find out what's after her, before it's too late.

The Good: As with a few other of 2009's scare flicks, Drag Me to Hell and The Uninvited, in particular, we get some excellently horrific visuals. These, along with the overall dark mood keeps us interested. The story efficiently moves us along until we get to a nice twist and a solid ending.

The Bad: Cliches abound, making it fairly predictable. It doesn't help that it's essentially a mish-mash of at least a dozen other horror movies, The Exorcist and The Grudge, most recognizably. Also, the closer we get to the end, the more silliness it indulges in. Finally, it's got a pretty good cast, but forgets to use them relegating players like Gary Oldman, Carla Gugino and Idris Elba to parts not necessarily requiring great talent.

The Ugly: I spent too much time amazed how much our star, Odette Yustman, resembles Megan Fox.

Recommendation: If you're into horror flicks, this isn't a bad choice. It's not great, but not terrible, either. In fact, it's pretty much average in every way. Sadly, even that is better than most movies in the genre. If you're not into horror movies, skip it.

The Opposite View: David Stratton, The Australian

What the Internet Says: 4.5/10 on imdb.com (1/27/10), 12% on rottentomatoes.com, 30/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 5.5/10