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The Worst Film Ever

Brilliant and touching

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

A somewhat lame attempt to jump on the "evil baby" bandwagon, a sub-genre which includes such diverse titles ranging from the absolute classic (ROSEMARY'S BABY), to the fairly hopeless (I DON'T WANT TO BE BORN), to the inevitable obscure, foreign-made rip-offs (BABY BLOOD and DAMNED IN VENICE). THE UNBORN is a horror film containing lots of slow-burning dread and fear and a few moments of graphic horror to make up for the slow pacing and routine plot that the rest of the production offers. Characters are poorly-defined and set up to fall and the climax is let down by some really cheesy special effects of a killer baby which looks like nothing more than a rubbery doll. The script is over-wordy and the film let down by the central casting of Brooke Adams (INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS) who overplays it by overacting during the sequence in which she throws a tantrum and wrecks her house and proves to be unlikeable at other times, meaning that you never really care for her character. Brad Blaisdell, who plays her husband, is wooden and dull throughout, so his eventual death is not so much shocking as a much-needed case of "just desserts".The only actor of note in the proceedings is RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD's James Karen, but even he is wasted in the small role of the sinister scientist who causes all the aggro in the first place. His slimy death, in which his dying body is pelted by all manner of strange and unnatural slime and goo, is pretty amusing though. Trivia fans can spot a pre-FRIENDS Lisa Kudrow appearing in a one-scene cameo as a secretary. Gore fans will be disappointed that the blood is in short supply; aside from a nasty moment in which a lesbian massacres her lover there's only a knitting-needle-in-the-eye sequence to get excited about. THE UNBORN does deserve kudos for being brave enough to include one sick scene in which a woman stabs herself in her own pregnant stomach repeatedly but otherwise is a bit of a missed opportunity, following a well-worn and predictable route to a rather lame and tired conclusion. It's difficult to get worked up about any of the characters or their activities in this movie and as a whole it leaves a distasteful taste in the mouth come the downbeat, oh-so-surprising twist conclusion. None of the science-fiction elements are adequately explored or the reasons or results for their appearance explained, leaving them looking like nothing more than tacked-on shots to give the plot some kind of solid ground.

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.

Borrowing liberally from Rosemary's Baby (and mimicking some of the strategies of Child's Play), The Unborn still retains its own unique sense of horror, steeped in paranoia and genetic conspiracies. While many of its scare tactics end up producing the opposite effect after an intriguing build, the film manages a consistent atmosphere of dread throughout, and most of its jarring visuals succeed in their horror film intentions. Plus, don't miss early roles from Lisa Kudrow as a receptionist and Kathy Griffin as a Lamaze instructor.After years of unsuccessful attempts at getting pregnant, Virginia Marshall (Brooke Adams) and her husband Brad (Jeff Hayenga) turn to the highly reputable Dr. Meyerling (James Karen). With the revolutionary new techniques developed by the skillful doctor, Virginia finally becomes pregnant, but she quickly finds her dream becoming a nightmare as she succumbs to delusions, paranoia, and the realization that there is something unnatural about her baby...Apparently, just like in Rosemary's Baby, a mother's love knows no boundaries - even when the child is a bloodthirsty homicidal mutant superbaby. The comparisons don't stop with Virginia's change of heart toward her killer kid, however, as loving husband Brad is involved with the creepy Human Genome Project advocate Dr. Meyerling - exactly like John Cassavetes' Guy, who participated in a devilish cult. Aside from very obvious, similar themes, even the subplots - such as a fellow patient who catches on to the doctor's genetic experimentations and winds up comatose before she can talk it over with Virginia - mirrors Polanski's superior film.The eeriness of an alien creature growing inside of the unsuspecting heroin is occasionally genuine, and further amplified by her frequent isolation, nightmares and familial estrangement. Her history of depression, breakdowns, a revolting rash, and disquieting music (periodically replaced with jazzier, badly out-of-place rock beats) also aid in the film's horror, but unfortunately too much of it is unintentionally hilarious. A particularly grizzly moment in which one of Meyerling's victims stabs her own pregnant belly with a butcher knife, along with several other choice bits of foreshadowing, is all out the window once the glistening plastic baby is finally revealed. The terror of the setup and the creepiness of the characters succumb to chuckles. It's hard not to laugh at such a pathetic prop.Famous schlock movie producer Roger Corman said that he intended for The Unborn to be "Rosemary's Baby meets Cronenberg's The Fly." He was also playing off of the success of Child's Play and It's Alive - sadly all of the films used for inspiration were infinitely more affecting, although The Unborn did spawn a very obscure sequel.The Massie Twins

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")