diff --git a/lib/ejs.rb b/lib/ejs.rb
index 686649a..77c75e9 100644
--- a/lib/ejs.rb
+++ b/lib/ejs.rb
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ def js_unescape!(source)
 
       def replace_escape_tags!(source, options)
         source.gsub!(options[:escape_pattern] || escape_pattern) do
-          "',(''+#{js_unescape!($1)})#{escape_function},'"
+          "',(''+(#{js_unescape!($1)}))#{escape_function},'"
         end
       end