The Unborn 2003

Por(Intira Jaroenpura)is a bartender(who deals and abuses drugs)who narrowly escapes a drowning after being pummeled by Ord, her sadistic supplier after he discovers that she is actually using his product instead of selling it like she's supposed to.

When she awakens in a hospital, Por is told by her caring physician, Dr. Rudee(Aranya Namwong)that she is pregnant. Por realizes that her guitarist boyfriend(who leaves her to go on tour with a new band)is the father and wants an abortion.

The pregnancy is the least of her troubles because not only must she contend with Ord who demands answers, but a ghost named Mai(Prangthong Changdham)is haunting her. The Nong Luang Swamp where Por almost died was the location for which Mai's body was found. Mai wants what belongs to her and will torment Por into investigating so that this dead girl's spirit can find rest.



"The dead don't stay dead," is what passed through my mind as I watched Bhandit Thongdee's THE UNBORN, a staple in Asian horror regarding restless ghosts who beckon a living person to bring the truth about how they died, closure to those who were killed in a criminal way demanding satisfaction. As is the case in THE UNBORN, it follows the familiar theme often present in onryo films..the ghost will revisit those responsible for her demise, getting revenge, the protagonist(in this case, Por)her device to lead us, the viewer, to all the details, the secrets revealed.

Por isn't a saint, far from it, and doesn't exactly ingratiate herself to others, often difficult and stubborn. Kruphol Tiansuwan is Pat, someone who needs Por to provide information to his employer, a company who keeps tabs to make sure she doesn't abuse drugs(she was recently released from a drug rehabilitation center who need to ensure she stays on the straight and narrow). Pat soon assists Por in her search to identify Mai and find out all about her.

Mai was pregnant, her stillborn child cut from her womb, disappearing. Ord is an undertaker(along with his regular duty as a drug dealer), and, along with a member of the hospital staff, have a history as it pertains to Mai's infant child. Ord is definitely the antagonist, a danger to Por's well-being, hot-headed, without a conscience(what he does to Mai is reprehensible)and prone to violent outbursts. Por's petite and small, so when she crosses Ord(after multiple punches to the face and stomach, she strikes back with a piece of plank wood from a pier overlooking the swamp), a bit too big for her britches, he responds in kind, the result not pretty.

There's a twist involving the enraged mother of a young male teacher who was Mai's married lover(and the one who impregnated her), implicated for his involvement in her death which I personally found amusing(you know something's up when the movie doesn't end once Mai's killers have been brought to justice for their actions), seemingly included as a means to surprise the audience because she seems like such a pleasant and giving woman..it isn't unusual in horror for a saint to have a dark side, turning into an unstable border-line psychotic when her perfect world is shattered by the heroine of the film.