FILM: D
Since the modern horror flick is so formulaic at this point, I avoided The Unborn at the theaters but hoped I’d be in for a surprise when it hits blu-ray. Hope left early into screening The Unborn, along with his friend, Thrills, Chills, and Originality. This time there’s no charge of a poor American remake, or a sequel that waters down the enjoyment of earlier installments. No, The Unborn did it all to itself, summoning a tired tale of family curses and hauntings in Casey Beldon (Odette Yustman), causing me to search under the couch pillows for holy water to wing at the screen. “Save my soul! Save my soul!” I screamed. Yeah. Didn’t work.

So this Beldon gal is a college co-ed in Chicago. She babysits to earn some cash, and keeps her body tight by working out regularly. Lately she’s been daydreaming and things begin to startle her. Cue in those cleverly-timed shriek noises and shrills designed to make you jump out of your seat. Casey shares her troubling mind with her superstitious friend Romy (Meagan Good) and boyfriend Mark (Cam Gigandet) but is mocked and ignored until one too many freak outs in public restrooms and lecture halls. At least one thing remains constant in horror flicks…. white folk are craaaazeeeeee!

When an eye doctor suspects she may have been a twin on the improbable chance she experienced Genetic Mosaicism, where placentas of two embryos can be fused and blood is transferred between fetuses. According to her father (James Remar), Casey had a twin brother who died when her umbilical cord wrapped around his throat. Nicknamed “Jumby” the unborn twin sent Casey’s mother (Carla Gugino) to a psych ward where she was diagnosed with depression and committed suicide. Yeah. That’s a bit of a skeleton I’d say, but nothing compared to what else she finds out.

Still haunted in her dreams, Casey seeks the help of Sofi (Jane Alexander) an elderly woman who knew her mother while at the looney bin, Arthur Wyndam (Idris Elba) Rabbi Sendak (Gary Oldman) two men of the cloth versed in the Jewish Kabbalah –stay with me– only to discover her family’s been long-cursed by the Nazi regime. There’s only one way to rid the family of this curse; a proper exorcism that’s destined to destroy the set of the film and take everyone in proximity with it.

Yustman really tries in the film, a poor woman’s Megan Fox (minus the clubbed thumbs and bad tattoos) and even greases up her body so that she can fit into tight, white tanks and undies to parade in. Her green performance is just one of the many turned in by the younger cast members. Jane Alexander is the most convincing of cast members as Sofi, Oldman and Elba appear… out of place. But this film struggled from the beginning with David S. Goyer’s script. More widely known for his part in writing Christopher Nolan’s Batman films, it was Goyer’s name that originally piqued my interest in The Unborn. Sadly, Goyer left his imagination in the bat cave playing chess with Alfred. There just wasn’t anything new, scary, or exciting about The Unborn. The deceased twin manifests itself into a demonic child whispering “Jumby wants to be be born now.” A premonition of things to come, but maybe it should have said, “Jumby wants a refund.”

VIDEO: B+
Despite all of the filmmakers’ travails, The Unborn is seen with a nice 1080p VC-1 encoded transfer in 2.40:1 aspect ratio. The picture has a bit of a fog about it, stylized and intentional, where objects that scream for emphasis get that spotlight while everything else drops back. There’s still plenty of accurate detail like pores on the skin, textures of various substrates that come across as authentic and the colors are so lush and rich at times it’s a shame that such a good looking film didn’t have much else going for it except…

AUDIO: B
All of the audio comes via a more than serviceable English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix. Universal loves the DTS-HD format and it does provide that screech and startle effect. Subwoofers will arise from the dead every now and then when they are called on and do an admirable job. There are some sweet spots in the film like the exorcism climax that utilizes the surround channels to a nice degree with eerie atmospheric effects, but too much of the audio in this film stays up front and center disconnecting the viewer from a complete experience through much of the film. There’s also an English 2.0 Dolby Digital mix, and 5.1 DTS tracks in Spanish, French, Dutch, and French Canadian. Subtitles are available in English SDH, Dutch, French, and French Canadaian.

EXTRAS: D-
Sometimes bad films have great extras but I guess Universal decided to cut its loss at the box office and spared no extra cents and dollars on a good supplemental package. Perhaps it was best to end the suffereing.

My Scenes – Universal’s standard bookmarking option allows you to place a mark at any moment of the film that puts you to sleep.

Deleted Scenes HD (6:37) – Six scenes that didn’t matter much but at least they’re in high def.

Not a shock here, Overall Shock Value: D+
I can’t say I was disappointed in the film because my expectations were not set that high. In fact it was spot on what was expected, which was another lazy, plain potato chip filled with trite scare tactics that’s as tasteless as the rest of the bag. Hollywood has once again relied on the usual gimmicks and gags to try and incite horror instead of really putting together a story that really drives The Unborn forward. If Hollywood cannot write but one good scary flick a year, then don’t bother pushing one out the door seemingly every month. The only thing horrific was the effort behind creating this film. There have been worse films, no doubt, but The Unborn’s only redeeming quality was that it scored high marks in the PCS AV department. And there’s one minute difference between the unrated cut and the theatrical cut. I don’t think there’s much difference. I’d pass on both but if you must see The Unborn for yourself, rent it first.