Movie Info
Movie Name: The Unborn
Studio: Califilm
Genre(s): Horror
Release Date(s): March 29, 1991
MPAA Rating: R
Yeah…I’ll take one!
Virginia Marshall (Brooke Adams) and Brad Marshall (Jeff Hayenga) have been told that having a child isn’t possible. When a fertility doctor named Dr. Richard Meyerling (James Karen) provides hope that Virginia can get pregnant, the future seems bright. Unfortunately, Dr. Meyerling’s studies aren’t necessarily scientific or legal. Something is growing inside Virginia, and Virginia might not be able to stop it.
Directed by Roman Flender, The Unborn is a biological horror thriller. The movie was met with average reviews.
I like horror movies about kids. They are both the creepiest and the funniest movies you can find. The Unborn is a hodgepodge of a script and ends with a rather unsatisfying ending.
Got to love a mad scientist!
The movie is mash-up of Rosemary’s Baby and It’s Alive, but it can’t decide what it is doing until too late in the film. The first part of the film has the Rosemary’s Baby themes with Brooke Adams paranoia starting to build. She finds her husband is secretly working against her and that something is growing inside of her that she can’t stop. The movie then becomes It’s Alive after an abortion “scare” scene which presents an illegal, underground abortion clinic that just tosses out fetuses. The mutant baby goes on a killing spree (with Brooke) and then the movie reverts back to Rosemary’s Baby with Brooke accepting the little critter.
Brooke Adams actually does a decent job with the film and feels genuinely unhinged. Jeff Hayenga is a bit dull as her husband but character actor James Karen is a good mad scientist. The movie is also somewhat known for having early acting roles for Lisa Kudrow and Kathy Griffin (both of which appear in the first ten minutes of the film for those wanting to skip the movie).
Give me a hug!
The movie’s visuals provide some laughs. If the movie had simply been about the mutant babies, the camp level would have been fun, but instead, you have to sit through the “what’s inside of me” portion of the movie. The mutant baby, however, is golden. It doesn’t show up a ton, but the little fella could have carried the movie better than the plot.
The Unborn isn’t good, but it is rather laughable. The movie is all over the place and only really gets good once the “unborn” is born. The film had potential (despite being derivative), but it didn’t live up to the potential. The Unborn was followed by The Unborn 2 in 1991.
