It
looks like a case of awkward etymological liberty-taking, but apparently, the
term “bornless” has legit roots in esoterica. Nevertheless, it would sound
better if they called themselves the “Unborn,” but there are already a number
of films with that title. Regardless, they enjoy “playing” with humans and that
is definitely bad news for the mere mortals in Alexander Babaev’s Bornless Ones (trailer here), which opens tomorrow
in Metro-Los Angeles.
Emily
and Jesse have just uprooted their lives, buying a secluded cabin-in-the-woods,
so they can be near her brother Zach’s new institution. She feels bad about relinquishing
her guardianship, but she just can’t (won’t) deal with his treatment anymore. You
might think there would be better facilities near a major urban population concentration,
but you would be wrong. The boonies are where it’s at for quality care.
Twenty-ish
and miserable-all-his-life Zach understands the entities’ nature better than
most. Essentially, he was born locked-into his body, unable to talk or
communicate, but painfully cognizant of everything that happens around them. He
is rather bitter as a result and susceptible to their lies. They promise to heal
his body, but at what cost?
Bornless wears its Evil Dead inspirations on its sleeve, so
the general grunginess generally works, but the narrative is less than flimsy:
people visit house, the end. The treatment of Zach is also highly problematic.
Still, Babaev conveys a vivid sense of an ancient, almost Lovecraftian evil and
unleashes some truly gruesome practical effects (that’s a good thing).
If
anything, Margaret Judson and Devin Goodsell are better than necessary as Emily
and her sort of patient boyfriend Jesse, at least for a churn’em up-and-out
horror movie. However, Michael Johnston just induces cringes as poor Zach and Mark
Furze is plain corn-pone annoying as Jesse’s down-market Matthew
McConaughey-ish pal Woodrow. As a bonus, former Deal or No Deal “briefcase model” Bobby T plays Woodrow’s
out-of-his-league girlfriend, Michelle.