Watch The Unborn For Free

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Watching this movie was a waste of time for me. The story is not unique. I find nothing different here. As a horror movie it has no unexpected turn of events. You could have seen this kind of story in many horror flicks. Any clever viewer can guess the pattern of the upcoming events. So there is no surprises at all. Also this movie is lack of the main element - Horror. there are hardly any moments when you feel frightened. All actors performances is average. Bhandit Thongdee's direction is just 'OK'. There is nothing which can attract or engage viewers through out the film. After considering all these elements, the remaining impact of the film is ruined by the stupid background score. I will suggest don't waste your time.

Por(Intira Jaroenpura)is a bartender(who deals and abuses drugs)who narrowly escapes a drowning after being pummeled by Ord, her sadistic supplier after he discovers that she is actually using his product instead of selling it like she's supposed to. When she awakens in a hospital, Por is told by her caring physician, Dr. Rudee(Aranya Namwong)that she is pregnant. Por realizes that her guitarist boyfriend(who leaves her to go on tour with a new band)is the father and wants an abortion. The pregnancy is the least of her troubles because not only must she contend with Ord who demands answers, but a ghost named Mai(Prangthong Changdham)is haunting her. The Nong Luang Swamp where Por almost died was the location for which Mai's body was found. Mai wants what belongs to her and will torment Por into investigating so that this dead girl's spirit can find rest."The dead don't stay dead," is what passed through my mind as I watched Bhandit Thongdee's THE UNBORN, a staple in Asian horror regarding restless ghosts who beckon a living person to bring the truth about how they died, closure to those who were killed in a criminal way demanding satisfaction. As is the case in THE UNBORN, it follows the familiar theme often present in onryo films..the ghost will revisit those responsible for her demise, getting revenge, the protagonist(in this case, Por)her device to lead us, the viewer, to all the details, the secrets revealed. Por isn't a saint, far from it, and doesn't exactly ingratiate herself to others, often difficult and stubborn. Kruphol Tiansuwan is Pat, someone who needs Por to provide information to his employer, a company who keeps tabs to make sure she doesn't abuse drugs(she was recently released from a drug rehabilitation center who need to ensure she stays on the straight and narrow). Pat soon assists Por in her search to identify Mai and find out all about her. Mai was pregnant, her stillborn child cut from her womb, disappearing. Ord is an undertaker(along with his regular duty as a drug dealer), and, along with a member of the hospital staff, have a history as it pertains to Mai's infant child. Ord is definitely the antagonist, a danger to Por's well-being, hot-headed, without a conscience(what he does to Mai is reprehensible)and prone to violent outbursts. Por's petite and small, so when she crosses Ord(after multiple punches to the face and stomach, she strikes back with a piece of plank wood from a pier overlooking the swamp), a bit too big for her britches, he responds in kind, the result not pretty. There's a twist involving the enraged mother of a young male teacher who was Mai's married lover(and the one who impregnated her), implicated for his involvement in her death which I personally found amusing(you know something's up when the movie doesn't end once Mai's killers have been brought to justice for their actions), seemingly included as a means to surprise the audience because she seems like such a pleasant and giving woman..it isn't unusual in horror for a saint to have a dark side, turning into an unstable border-line psychotic when her perfect world is shattered by the heroine of the film.

In the late 90s, the cinema of Thailand experienced the growth of a resurgence, a New Wave of Thai film-making that helped to restore the confidence in the country's film industry, and proved that Thai films could achieve worldwide critical and commercial success. This resurgence attracted a couple of young filmmakers from Hong Kong, the Pang Brothers (Oxide and Danny Pang), who made a series of stylish horror films in Thailand bringing the influence of Japanese horror to the country. Bhandit Thongdee's "The Unborn" is one of the films that clearly show the influence that the Pang brothers had in Thai Horror, and it gives signs that probably, one day the students will surpass the master."The Unborn" (or "The Mother") is the story of Por (Intira Jaroenpura), a young woman who works as bartender in a popular nightclub. One night, she is brutally beaten by her former drug dealer Ord (Wannakit Sirioput) who throws her to a lake thinking she is dead. The next day she awakes at the hospital, where Dr. Rudee (Aranya Namwong) has been taking care of her after she was miraculously saved from drowning; however, not all are good news, as she is informed that she is also pregnant. As she recovers from her wounds, she begins to have horrible visions of a strange female ghost that seems to be decided to drive her insane. At first she thinks those are hallucinations caused by the shock and the withdrawal from drugs she is experiencing, but soon the visions become more real, and dangerous.Written and directed by Bhandit Thongdee, "The Unborn" plays like a classic ghost story, where our main character, Por, must find the answers to the mystery of why is the ghost haunting her and what does she must do to get rid of her supernatural influence. Following the ghost story blueprint to the letter, Thongdee creates an interesting mystery that slowly gets unfolded as the story moves on while putting some very creepy scenes as the haunting takes place. Despite the apparent lack of originality, Bhandit Thongdee adds some interesting bits of Thai folklore (as the plot is supposedly based on a real story) and drug addictions that truly spice up things a bit and gives a somewhat fresh face to the story. Visually, the film is remarkably good, with both the cinematography (by Surachet Thongmee) and the special effects (good mix of traditional and CG effects) showing an excellent and creative use of their limited resources. Clearly influenced by the horror films of the Pang brothers, the movie features a very atmospheric, yet modern look that at times recalls the Pangs' "Gin Gwai" ("The Eye"), but with a focus on the decadent dread of hospitals. Thongdee may be playing with clichés in his movie, but he manages to pull out some very good scenes that definitely make those clichés work. Sure, it's derivative and conventional, but the way the movie is executed shows that Thongdee has a future ahead in Thai cinema. Along with Thongdee's direction, what truly makes the film to stand out are the excellent performances of Intira Jaroenpura and Wannakit Sirioput. Intira delivers a really believable turn as the young "lost girl" Por, whose cynic view to her apparently meaningless life gets suddenly changed by the supernatural force that haunts her. Sirioput is remarkably good as the psychotic drug dealer Ord, although it is Intira who ultimately carries the film. The rest of the small cast is very effective, with Aranya Namwong delivering great acting as Dr. Rudee, although the focus of the film doesn't allow her to shine.In the end, "The Unborn"'s main problem could be summarized as a notorious lack of originality, in the sense that it doesn't attempt to do anything that hasn't been done before (and better) in many other occasions. However, this also works as a virtue, as the film's fulfills its purpose without any pretension besides to entertain. Fans of the Asian horror sub genre will find in the film an interesting (and different) take on a well-known story, but those tired of female ghost will only find another film to hate.By the hand of creative filmmakers, the Thai cinema is beginning a slow but constant development that looks very promising so far, and that already has started to show good results. "The Unborn" shows that its cast and crew have a lot of potential to become major stars in the growing Thai film industry, and hopefully soon we'll discover new and better films from that Thai country. 7/10

I wasn't expecting a lot from this film, considering the comments (or lack thereof) that I had read. I love Asian films and since this is a Thai movie, I thought I'd give it a chance. I was very surprised and pleased on viewing the film. It's a classic ghost story, the type where the ghost(s) needs the help of a living person(s) to finish something left undone. The story and special effects were top notch. If you are a fan of Asian cinema, or ghost stories in particular you can't go wrong with this film.Thai movies haven't been to well received in the West (except for the recent Ong-Bak action films), but this film along with Shutter are definitely two very good Thai horror films that you should check out.