Before David Goyer
In “The Unborn” an attractive college co-ed Casey (Odette Yustman) finds herself the target of the diabolical Dybbuk, a spirit which has bided its time since her birth to make its nefarious presence known. Is it perhaps a manifestation of her twin brother, who died in the womb all those years ago? For his first movie since the Dark Knight, David S. Goyer offers a relentlessly creepy take on the dybbuk legend, which may never be considered a classic of the genre, but if you’re the kind of horror fan who gets your kicks from phantasmagorical imagery and shivers at the thought of supernatural forces beyond our realm of comprehension, you could do a lot worse than The Unborn.
THE UNINVITED
It may sound familiar and indeed is a remake of the Korean hit Changhwa, Hongryon, but the twists and turns in this nifty little psychological thriller will send chills down your spine and keep you guessing. It all starts when Anna (Emily Browning), home from a stint in a psycho ward, begins investigating her mother’s unexpected death. Adding to her woes is her clueless father’s (David Strathairn) engagement to a not-so-nice nurse (Elizabeth Banks), who arouses the suspicions of both Anna and her sister Alex (Arielle Kebbel) – and all hell breaks loose.
MIRRORS
Ex-cop Ben Carson (Kiefer Sutherland) is being haunted by supernatural mirrors, which seem to be targeting him and his family for death. Working at an abandoned department store – the guy who previously had the job managed to slit his own throat thanks to the mean ‘ol mirrors, which makes this new gig a total downer for the former NYPD cop who is also a recovering alcoholic. Scenes shift from the dark and creepy building to his former home now solely occupied by his estranged wife (Paula Patton) and two nightmare-prone kids. Forced to live with his bartender sister Angela (Amy Smart), Ben tries to convince sis and ex-wife that he is haunted by a group of, yes, mirrors at his current workplace, and they may all be in danger as well…
THE EYE
Sydney Wells (Jessica Alba) has been given the gift of sight, but it comes with a horrifying price in the English-language remake of Danny and Oxide Pang’s The Eye. The double corneal transplant was to open up a new world for Sydney, a concert violinist whose blindness has plagued her since childhood. With the help of Dr. Paul Faulkner (Alessandro Nivola) and sister Helen (Parker Posey), Sydney’s operation and recovery seemed to be on the road to success — until horrific images start to tear their way into her newfound vision. What’s worse is that these episodes appear to foreshadow future deadly events, leading Sydney on a mission to track down the person whose eyes she has inherited and discover what kind of mystery from beyond the grave lies before her.
THE GRUDGE
This American remake of director Takashi Shimizu’s popular Japanese movie franchise The Grudge puts Buffy the Vampire Slayer alumna Sarah Michelle Gellar back into the line of supernatural fire. When Karen (Gellar), an American student working with a Japanese health center for college credit, comes across a mysterious curse, she quickly finds herself embroiled in a fight for her own sanity, and, ultimately, her very survival. Known as a “grudge,” the curse was born inside of a house after its inhabitants died while consumed by rage — according to legend, the curse touches all who come into contact with it, and will torment those unlucky individuals until they, too, become part of the grudge . Each time the curse finds a new victim, it is, in a sense, reborn, and will continue on its path unless Karen can free herself from its control over her.
“The Unborn” is in Irish cinemas from Friday, Feb 27th.