The Unborn (1991 film)

The story centers around a married couple. The infertile wife 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 during the pregnancy Virginia finds that something unusual is happening to the fetus. A further investigation shows that she is part of an experiment conducted by an insane doctor.

• Brooke Adams as Virginia Marshall
• Jeff Hayenga as Brad Marshall
• James Karen as Dr. Richard Meyerling
• K Callan as Martha Wellington
• Kathy Griffin as Connie
• Angelina Estrada as Isabel
• Jonathan Emerson as Mark Robinson
• Janice Kent as Cindy
• Lisa Kudrow as Louisa

Writer John D Brancato says the film was inspired by "killer mutant baby stories like It's Alive". They had previously written Bloodfist II for Corman.[1]

Filming took place in October 1990.[2] It was the first film directed by Flender who described it has a cross between Rosemary's Baby and The Fly.[3]

It was the first feature film as cinematographer for Wally Pfister who worked for Roger Corman for a number of years. He later recalled, "I had something I wanted to try with color and light. But it’s ghastly. At the same time, I cut myself slack, because my creative reach went beyond my skill level. That’s a really important thing to note. I had great ideas. But if you don’t have the skill level, you’re never going to master the artistry. That’s where I was early on. And I needed to put the hard work in and slowly work my way up."[4]

Adams said the film was a "pleasant surprise" for her and at one stage discussed with Corman the possibility of directing the sequel.[5]

Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called the film "an efficient, scary sci-fi thriller", commending its screenplay as well as Adams's character and performance;[6] he concluded that the film "is laudable adult entertainment on all counts except one: There is a gratuitous, sneering put-down of lesbians who are in turn ignorantly stereotyped as man-haters."[6] Joan Bunke of The Des Moines Register gave the film a score of one out of five stars, calling it "as predictable as the phases of the moon", and writing: "Flender's movie, clearly made on a low budget, looks underdressed and underlit – as cheap as its story framework."[7]

The film was followed by a sequel, The Unborn 2, released in 1994.

• The Unborn at IMDb
• Review at Los Angeles Times
• Review of film at Den of Geek
• The Unborn at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Unborn at Box Office Mojo