Goyer Wants to Be Born Now

Some folks in Hollywood compel one to marvel at their continued ability to get work despite continually producing mediocrity. One of the most infamous is David S. Goyer, who manages to hide his lack of imagination by befriending genuine talent. When he stands on his own, with a movie like 2009's The Unborn, which he wrote and directed, the truth becomes painfully clear; the guy's got nothing.

Casey (Odette Yustman) is a pretty girl with no personality that the film can think of mentioning. She has scary dreams of dogs and dead people with twisted heads resembling monsters from Japanese horror and David Lynch movies. She keeps hearing "Jambi wants to be born now" which of course brought to mind the genie from Pee-Wee's Playhouse. Unfortunately, the truth is not so entertaining.

Her investigation leads her to an old woman who informs her the ghost child pursuing her is a dybbuk and recommends that she see a rabbi named Joseph Sendak (Gary Oldman). God knows why she recommended him in particular since he basically tells Casey he doesn't believe in this stuff. But he finally agrees to help and since getting rid of the dybbuk is an exorcism of sorts, he enlists the aid of an episcopal priest played by Idris Elba. It's kind of sad Goyer, who's Jewish himself, thought this was necessary. It's not like Max von Sydow brought in a rabbi in the Exorcist. Maybe it's part of a postmodern, all religions are equal, compulsive plot point.

I'd like to say something nice about the movie. Gary Oldman and Idris Elba are always great. Odette Yustman looks really good in her underwear . . . That's all I got. Like I said, the jump scares don't work. The lighting is bland, there's not much going for the production design. I kind of liked the outfits worn by Meagan Good, who plays Casey's friend.