Before the Gregory Peck-starrer The Omen (1976) became a major success in horror cinema, British director Peter Sasdy’s I Don't Want to Be Born presented a somewhat similar story but with strikingly different characters and cinematic details. The movie remains an underwhelming screen number in the horror tradition yet stands out in some key elements. What worked fine and what failed it as a scary movie?

Perhaps the fact that I Don't Want to Be Born is a four-name movie (the alternative titles being Sharon's Baby, The Devil Within Her, and The Monster) comes as a sign of indecision over how to best brand it as a horror feature. Interestingly, none of the titles including the original seem to fit well or sound compelling. But the movie’s weakn...

Please subscribe to keep reading.