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As the story opens, a young girl is running madly through a patch of woods towards a private abortion clinic when she crosses paths with two employees of that very destination. Obviously running from someone, or something, the young girl is taken in by the doctors as a precaution and transported to the facility. It is only moments before her pursuer also arrives...and brings with him a whole slew of troubles. Dwayne is a pro-life activist...the sort of “activism” that got him slammed with a pretty severe restraining order...from this very clinic! But he has other reason to be outside their gates this time; more than an attempt to stand in the way of a procedure he sees as murder. The girl just taken inside...is his daughter. While Dwayne sits in an illegal siege outside the facility communicating solely through a nervous security guard, inside another crisis is forming. It seems that his daughter’s pregnancy isn’t entirely...well, normal. As the doctors work on the mysterious pregnancy inside, Dwayne is working on something too; a plan for invading the clinic and taking his daughter back by force if that is what it comes too. He believes he is led by God to protect the unborn child, but inside his daughter is trying to convince the medical staff that God wants her baby dead. As things in horror films have a tendency to do, the entire situation goes to hell in a hand basket...and by hell, I mean h-e-l-l, hell. Dwayne’s daughter fights for the death of the “evil” inside her, her father fights for the release of his underage daughter and the doctors fight for their lives as battle lines are drawn and a war begins. But this war may have more at stake than an unborn babies right to live...the outcome of this particular struggle just might have spiritual implications. It is not an easy feat to spark discussion without imposing your views and beliefs into the topic, but somehow John Carpenter manages to do just that. Pro-choicers will revel in the portrayal of Dwayne’s character as some sort of mini-militant, religious nut-job. Pro-lifers will stand behind the rational arguments he makes, and support his quest to get his daughter back, if not the actions he takes to get her. Pro-choicers will appreciate the desire of the medical staff to help a child in need. Pro-lifers will understand Dwayne’s idea that the doctors should taste some of their own medicine...even though EVERYONE will cringe when he makes it happen! But regardless of the way the two sides are portrayed and the skillful direction that allows them both to feel represented by certain portions of this tale, the greatest move that Carpenter makes here is to have BOTH sides slowly degrade. By the end of the film, as Ron Perlman says, “All values just go out the window”. Or, as the writing team themselves declare, “We are not pro-life, we are not pro-choice...we are pro-monster!” And monster there is. After all, that is what this film really is; a monster movie. The pace of this film is held steady at a quick clip throughout the entirety, which makes a few elements feel rushed and a few others skipped entirely, but the payoff is seeing the storyline move from righteous standoff, to gunslinger onslaught, to creepy monster flick all in the short running time. And like any good monster flick there is a lot of gore and a couple of monsters. In a surprising twist for the man who practically perfected the Hitchcockian idea of “showing less is more” with his early career films Halloween and The Fog; Carpenter here decided in post-production to add in extra gore and special effects. While this leads to a few continuity issues, it also makes for one stomach turning thrill after another. What we have here, is a winning team. Director John Carpenter and writers Drew McWeeny and Scott Swan have now worked twice together to great success. The first time was in Masters Of Horror season one with the acclaimed episode Cigarette Burns, which many genre fans and critics alike view as the best of that years entries. They say lighting doesn’t strike twice, but apparently these guys’ success isn’t such a random occurrence. I only hope that the three of these guys get together again in the third season...I am dying to see what they can put together. But before I give away ALL the credit for Pro-Life’s success, I have to set aside a healthy dose for one of my favorite actors, Ron Perlman. Whether as One in City Of Lost Children or the unforgettable Hellboy in the film of the same name, Perlman has a way to be remembered for every single role he takes on. Described as a “hero” in the sense that he has focus on one goal and the determination to see it through, Dwayne gives Perlman a chance to burn out before fading away...and in so doing, create another memorable role. Truly taking over the screen in every scene, this is the stuff that Perlman fans (a passionate group!) will go crazy for. With this sort of film being made, there is hope that horror has a future. Sure not everyone will like the “rubber suit” monster, and some will walk away offended by the subject matter (the sort of person who has decided to be offended long before any actual offending is done!), but regardless...this is what it is really about. A grand conflict, a great collection of gore scenes, some madness, some monsters and lots of violence...all wrapped up in a package that people will WANT to be talking about the day after seeing it. I am so happy to see this sort of film coming from a seasoned director...an established Master Of Horror. I am tired of hearing about the “new generation of horror”. I’ll take an old favorite over a young upstart any day...and Carpenter has proven with Pro-Life that he still has a lot of life left in him. -aaron-
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