The Unborn(1991) is a direct to video sci-fi horror film released by RCA/Columbia home video, and was produced by Roger Corman.
Cast: Brooke Adams, Jeff Hayenga, James Karen, K. Callan, Jane Cameron, Kathy Griffin, Wendy Hammers, Laura Stockman, Jonathan Emerson, Janice Kent, and Lisa Kudrow.
Director: Rodman Flender
My Two Cents: This is one baby worth checking out. As direct to video films go, I was pleasantly surprised by how decent this flick was. Sure. It's no masterpiece but it had a certain eerie quality to it. It's not a very long movie either sitting at an hour and 23 minutes, it goes by at a fairly quick pace. The plot is a little derivative of other killer baby flicks(I.E. It's Alive) but instead of showing the killer tyke in nearly every scene, it takes a more subdued approach relying more upon psychological torments instead of special effects which adds to the suspense. There were a couple moments that made me jump, and the effects were pretty solid for the low budget. The directing is handled quite well by Rodman Flender who shows a lot more talent here than he did in Leprechaun 2. It's also fun to see early cameos by Kathy Griffin and Lisa Kudrow before they became famous. The film's score was co written by none other than 80's new wave icon Gary Numan. The score definitely has the mark of his presence throughout which makes it actually pretty awesome to listen to. It's not particularly scary but there's something about it that just sticks with you. The craptacular baby effects in my opinion look shoddy as hell, but since the film was made for peanuts I can give that a pass. It's hard not to laugh though. The acting isn't the greatest either. Especially James Karen's during his death scene. It looked as if the man had never played dead before. It was embarrassing. The ending was a major letdown. It harkens back to the end of Larry Cohen's It's Alive, and makes zero sense. Despite all of it's flaws The Unborn was a fun little creature feature that was well worth the quarter I paid for it and my time.
My Two Cents: This is one baby worth checking out. As direct to video films go, I was pleasantly surprised by how decent this flick was. Sure. It's no masterpiece but it had a certain eerie quality to it. It's not a very long movie either sitting at an hour and 23 minutes, it goes by at a fairly quick pace. The plot is a little derivative of other killer baby flicks(I.E. It's Alive) but instead of showing the killer tyke in nearly every scene, it takes a more subdued approach relying more upon psychological torments instead of special effects which adds to the suspense. There were a couple moments that made me jump, and the effects were pretty solid for the low budget. The directing is handled quite well by Rodman Flender who shows a lot more talent here than he did in Leprechaun 2. It's also fun to see early cameos by Kathy Griffin and Lisa Kudrow before they became famous. The film's score was co written by none other than 80's new wave icon Gary Numan. The score definitely has the mark of his presence throughout which makes it actually pretty awesome to listen to. It's not particularly scary but there's something about it that just sticks with you. The craptacular baby effects in my opinion look shoddy as hell, but since the film was made for peanuts I can give that a pass. It's hard not to laugh though. The acting isn't the greatest either. Especially James Karen's during his death scene. It looked as if the man had never played dead before. It was embarrassing. The ending was a major letdown. It harkens back to the end of Larry Cohen's It's Alive, and makes zero sense. Despite all of it's flaws The Unborn was a fun little creature feature that was well worth the quarter I paid for it and my time.
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