It seems writer/director David S. Goyer has a great understanding of horror and story-telling considering his script The Dark Knight, but his directing of The Unborn was not as impressive.  Being a horror flick fan I noticed several original ideas and imagery that Goyer pulled off well, but overall the movie was shaky at best.
 
Goyer begins The Unborn with a typical plotline of an unborn twin reaping revenge on his sister, Casey, played by Odette Yustman.  Casey finds herself shocked by the news of this secret twin brother, and the target of a demonic spirit dating back to Nazi Germany who may have manifested himself through her unborn brother.  Casey is haunted by freaky dreams and possessed pale-faced, mono-toned children, a clear imitation of the The Shining.  Yustman's character is a bit weak, but she does convey a good damsel in distress.  Casey seeks Sofi Kozma, played by Jane Alexander, a Holocaust survivor who seems to hold the answers to Casey's fears and past.  Rabbi Sendak, played by Gary Oldman, is a rabbi who translates old manuscripts to perform an exorcism on Casey.  Oldman's character is surprisingly hard to take seriously, and it may be due to the lack of material given.  Casey's boyfriend, played by Cam Gigandet (Twilight), offers the usual skepticism and blinded support before seeing the gruesome evidence for himself. 
 
The Unborn feels and looks like a ghost story, but instead becomes more mundane as the story progresses.  It seems that Goyer tried to cram too much background and history for the audience to follow.  This film does rest on twisted monster faces and a few back breaking bends from several characters, which did pack a few punches.  The audience laughed out loud at a few novel ideas, but Goyer did achieve a few genuine screams and jumps with some effectively disturbing imagery and cinematography.  If you like attractive characters, predictable age old demonic haunting, and an occasional laugh then you may enjoy this thriller.
 
Overall though, The Unborn was disappointing and did not deliver to its potential.  I give it a 2 out of 5