Born

Now available on DVD

Cast:



Kane Hodder as Asmodeus/Cardinal



Joan Severance as Dr. Sammael



Denise Crosby as Catherine



Alison Brie as Mary Elizabeth



Eddie Velez as Father Anthony



James Callahan as Albert

Directed by: Richard Friedman

Review:

I like that Kane Hodder has become a horror icon after his tour behind the hockey mask as Jason in the Friday The 13th franchise Parts VII through X.

Obviously, being in a mask didn’t give him a face to recognize to fans. But that didn’t stop him from making a career in the horror genre. Now, it appears he has become a legitimate horror star. Just a few weeks ago, B.T.K. was released onto DVD with Hodder as the star. Next month, Bundy: An American Icon comes to DVD. And just released onto DVD (but originally made in 2007) is Born – Hodder’s latest horror extravaganza.

Born is an odd film with a split plotline. The first involves Hodder’s character of Asmodeus and his attempt to become human again after selling his soul to the devil and being turned into an evil demon. He tells his tale to Dr. Sammael (Skinamax favorite and aged nicely Joan Severance) who at first doesn’t believe what she’s hearing but in the end discovers Asmodeus is exactly what he claims to be. She pays dearly for this knowledge. Oh don’t worry, she re-appears later in a less-than-shocking twist.

The other half of the film is the main plotline where Asmodeus – in order to regain his humanity – struck a deal with the devil that if he impregnated his sister, Mary Elizabeth (Alison Brie, who plays Trudy on AMC’s Mad Men), and if the baby was born he’d get what he most desires. Along the way if some casualties were incurred it would only hasten his return to humanity. So he goes about controlling Mary Elizabeth via the baby to kill those around her and some random people that happen to cross her path.

As the demon grows, it becomes more powerful (and more controlling of the woman) and the true intentions of those around her are revealed including her evil sister, Catherine (Denise Crosby – remember when she was a hot tom-boy type in Star Trek: The Next Generation? Yeah, no longer. She hasn’t aged well and looks pissed in every scene), and an albino graveyard caretaker who you could see as a servant of hell coming a mile away.

The nudity and sex is strange…a body double is used for Brie and when there are shots of her pregnant she is always from a far, or covered in a shirt. When a close-up is revealed she is viewed the neck up showing nothing of her body. It is as if the pregnant special effects they had were so bad they good could be seen from far away so they purposely shot the film this way.

After the big reveal (or not so big reveal as the case may be) about her sister and others, the film drags a bit with a number of additional killings, some gratuitous nudity from twins, an exploding television, a bath time gone wrong, eyeball gauging, taser fun time and green goo placenta. This all leads to the birth of the child – who up until this point was a demon in every ultrasound or screen time we’ve seen – but instead it is a normal baby. A little odd but I guess since it is the spawn of Satan it has to look the part of a human.

While this is a supernatural horror film involving pregnancy, there is much better fare out there. Inside, for example, is a much more brutal and visceral look at the horrors of home invasion and baby theft. And, of course, Rosemary’s Baby is the ultimate Devil takes a baby as its Anti-Christ. Even the Masters of Horror episode “Pro-Life” is more visceral in its approach to the subject. While Born isn’t that bad, it isn’t that good either and stumbles along far too long at the end for its own good.

Extras:

The sole featurette on the DVD is a behind-the-scenes look at Born. Told through interviews with the crew and cast, we see the film come together from the initial idea, through the production meetings (which is actually some good behind-the-scenes footage of brainstorming and issues that arise), from the uncomfortable scenes in the film and teetering on the subject of bad taste, to location choices and more.

This is a pretty length (clocking in at 24 minutes) and informative featurette. They give us a basic pillar to post look at the entire film production including the variety of special effects used, how all make-up people that are male in Hollywood are gay, the naked twins, casting auditions, wardrobe (and the lengthy search for an overcoat), Hodder’s plentiful dialogue (he claims this film has his most lines ever) and even post-production details (actually informative in terms of how a movie is actually put together).

The featurette in some ways actually saves the DVD as a whole. Because it is so informative and includes so many behind-the-scenes, pulling the curtain away material it is a boon to the film that is otherwise lackluster. This is definitely worth checking out especially for those that enjoy seeing how movies are put together and the vast amount of work (and people) involved.