"Pro-Life" actually reminded me a little bit about all those pathetic late 80's/early 90's made-for-TV movies based on real-life tragedies. You know the ones I'm talking about… They usually always starred former sitcom stars (like from "Beverly Hills 90210 etc…) and dealt with topics like unwanted teenage pregnancies, rape and forced abortions. "Pro-Life" features some of those elements as well, but naturally lengthened with totally bonkers and over-the-top grotesque horror ingredients à la John Carpenter. His episode "Cigarette Burns" already was one of the highlights of season one, and "Pro-Life" definitely ranks amongst the finest efforts of season two. It's a fast-paced and incredibly gory short film with a handful of original ideas and truckloads of disturbing imagery, but sadly also an underdeveloped screenplay. Perhaps John Carpenter needed to make this a long-feature film, so that he could elaborate on some of the potentially very intriguing aspects of the story. Two doctors working in the private abortion clinic ran by Dr. Kiefer pick up a young and tremendously confused pregnant teenager by the side of the road. The girl claims to have been raped by a demon from hell that attacked her one week earlier in her backyard. The doctors naturally don't believe the story, but have to admit the fetus grows at an incredible rate and shows many signs of being pure evil. Meanwhile, the girl's father and brothers are outside the gates of the abortion clinic. Dwayne Burcell is a reputed troublemaker and religious fanatic who came into conflict with Dr. Kiefer before. Now he's determined to get his daughter out of the clinic and, especially, rescue the baby because God ordered him to. Qualifying as a genuine Masters of Horror installment, "Pro-Life" contains a lot of truly grueling images (like close range shotgun kills) and flamboyant special effects and monster designs. There are also some very icky moments, like when Dwayne uses the surgical instruments to perform an abortion on a male patient. Yikes! As said, the screenplay is sadly underdeveloped. Carpenter borrows terrific elements from previous horror classics (including some of his own work, like "The Thing") but it's all very incoherent and lacking logical sense. But since sense isn't the most vital elements I expect to find in a Masters of Horror episode, I can still safely say I loved "Pro-Life". Watch this if you want extreme gore and a stellar performance from Ron Perlman.

Well well well. As good as John Carpenter's season 1 outing in "Masters of Horror" was, this is the complete opposite. He certainly proved he was still a master of horror with "Cigarette Burns" but "Pro-Life" is perhaps the worst I have seen from him. It's stupid, totally devoid of creepy atmosphere and tension and it overstays it's welcome, despite the less-than-an-hour running time. The script is nonsense, the characters are irritable and un-appealing and the conclusion is beyond absurd. And for those suckers who actually bought the DVD (one of them being me); did you see how Carpenter describes the film? He's actually proud of it and he talks about it as his best work for a long time, and he praises the script. And in the commentary track, where he notices an obvious screw up that made it to the final cut, he just says he didn't feel it essential to rectify the mistake and he just let it be there. I fear the old master has completely lost his touch. I sincerely hope I'm proved wrong. I want to leave on a positive note and mention that the creature effects are awesome, though. Technically speaking, this film is top notch, with effective lighting schemes and make up effects.

Its best not to know anything at all about horror before you see it, but this is great so watch it and stop reading now! Anyway... Saw this at the Horrorthon in Dublin on the big screen and it is great to see John producing solid scares after the bad run of form lately. Well only Ghosts of Mars really! Pro-life is decent horror with a nice build-up of suspense towards the inevitable pay-off. Ron Perlman's Dwayne is similar to Bill Paxton's character in Frailty - he is doing god's bidding and therefore this justifies the act no matter how horrible it is (and it does get pretty horrible, though I'm sure god never told him to give the doctor a taste of his own medicine) plus he has a gang of boys (his sons) who do his bidding. The episode starts off fairly predictably with the standard shot seen a gazillion times before of a girl running through the woods, then cut to car driving through forest, then back to girl, car, bam! Collision. But thankfully thats about it for conventional horror, though once again comparisons with Rio Bravo can be drawn with the siege on the clinic. I liked this better than Cigarrette Burns which I felt was a full-length feature shoe-horned into the 1 hour running time of the series but in this episode the pacing is just right. Kudos must also go to Cody Carpenter who takes after his old man in the music stakes at the start, sounding a lot like Halloween, but is very effective at creating the dark and foreboding atmosphere through sound that the best horror needs to succeed. Overall a very accomplished piece that shouldn't disappoint Carpenter fans and casual observers too.

This installment of Masters of Horror was terrible. Apparently, Mr. Carpenter needs to learn a thing or two about pacing and decent, plausible dialog. There were times when I literally shouted at the TV for something to happen. Maybe he thinks he building suspense, but Carpenter needs to trim back that overdone, over-simplified musical score of his (or his son's) and advance the action a little bit. How many times did the girl say, "Oh no, I can't have this baby!" and "Oh, no here it comes"? Carpenter takes elements from much, much better films (Assault on Precinct 13 and The Thing) and throws them in here as if we are supposed to acknowledge and appreciate his trademark style. What is lacking here is genuine suspense and energy. It's as though he's sleepwalking through the process of movie making. For better Carpenter films, stick to the tried and true classics-- The Thing, Halloween, and They Live. For better masters of horror episodes, check out my personal favorites: Family, Jenifer, and Dreams in the Witch House.

Wow. The only people reviewing this positively are the Carpenter apologists. I know a lot of those. The guys that'll watch John Carpenter squat on celluloid and pinch out a movie and proclaim it a masterwork of horror. This "movie" is utter crap. It looks and sounds like a porno (good lord, the soundtrack is awful...), and has sub-par * acting, which is shocking, because normally Ron Perlman is really a very good actor. I honestly have no idea what Carpenter was thinking when making this. Most likely "Beans, beans, beans.." until somebody fed him and rolled him up into a blanket for the day... They say nothing about the abortion debate whatsoever, when they could have had a very interesting central theme (how do religious zealot anti-abortionists feel when it's the devil's baby?) but instead they chose to have Ron Perlman and his terribly acted kids kill a bunch of people and have the horribly cast doctors try to calm the hysterically bad pregnant girl. Not a single person from this episode or what have you should come away unscathed. It's just awful. Like, Plan 9 From Outerspace awful. Like, good god please would somebody turn it off before I soil myself awful. Try watching this and The Thing in the same day and your mind will implode.

PRO-LIFE (2006) **** (out of four) John Carpenter's second film in the Masters of Horror series is a complete return to form for the director. This tops last years episode, which wasn't an easy thing to do. A 15-year-old girl is taken to an abortion clinic but her overly religious, psychotic father (Ron Perlman) shows up and demands that she leaves. The doctors, who know her father due to previous threats his made against them, refuse to let the girl go but the father and his three sons plan on getting inside before the doctors can "murder" his daughter's baby. I guess you could call this the most screwed up religious film ever made or you could call it a surreal morality tale but either way this is classic Carpenter. The film borrows elements from the director's own ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 but the added layers dealing with abortion makes it even better. There are layers upon layers of ideas and stories going on in this film and all are shown with respect and gives the viewer something to think about. Perlman and the supporting cast are terrific and Carpenter's son did the very good music score. The only faults are a couple over the top, CGI gore effects that should have been left out. Add in a couple great jump scenes and one can't but hope Carpenter decides to direct more and come out of his semi-retirement.

For the second season of the show, John Carpenter reunited with the writers of his season one "Masters of Horror" episode. Angelique is a young teen found stumbling along the side of the road by two doctors on their way to work at an abortion clinic. Wanting an abortion, they take her with them. Once at the clinic, it isn't long before her deeply religious father, Dwayne Burcell (Ron Perlman), shows up with his three sons to get her out of there and save the baby by any means necessary. Having had run-ins with him in the past, the head doctor of the clinic even went as far as to have a restraining order taken against Burcell. Meanwhile, Angelique claims that she wants to abort the baby because it's the hell-spawn of a demon that raped her. They don't believe her, but the pregnancy is clearly abnormal. Having not done a film since 2001's "Ghosts of Mars", Carpenter returned with a vengeance with "Cigarette Burns", one of the best episodes of this show's initial season. As such, his season two contribution was one of my most anticipated. Unfortunately, "Pro-Life" was a crushing disappointment. The story had potential, but didn't live up to any of it due in large part to horrible writing. Perlman is in a big hurry to find his daughter before something happens to the baby. So, why doesn't he just shoot through the clinic doors right off the bat? He's killed a guard, yet he's worried about ruining the clinic's doors? Why waste time looking for another entrance? Oh, that's right, so the girl can tell her rape story. Later, he further wastes time by giving the head doctor a taste of his own medicine. As for anyone looking for thoughtful commentary on the abortion debate, look elsewhere. You'll get none of that here. Aside from Perlman, nobody in this episode can act worth a damn. The characters aren't at all likable either. For example, look at the main doctor character and his girlfriend. When demon baby shows up, they save their own asses by locking themselves in the next room while leaving a drugged and defenseless Angelique to fend for herself. How noble! Speaking of the demon baby, it looks more like one of the mutilated toys from the first "Toy Story". We get some horrid CGI head-shots too, which lead to continuity problems. Watch how the side of the guard's head is blown off when he's shot. Well, later, when the nervous kid looks at his body, he only has a hole in the middle of his head. What I liked about the episode - Perlman's performance, the music during the birthing scene and Perlman's reaction to the demon's revelation. Other than that, there's nothing here. The episode hints at better ideas, but ends up delivering only the most ridiculous and unsatisfying. Carpenter is one of my three favorite filmmakers, and this is the first thing he's done that I've flat-out hated.

Look I went into this with low expectations given things I've read within the internet community ... but I'll be damned if this isn't one of the more fun and MOH episodes. It is however the type you have to make sacrifices for. You have to switch of your logic and be willing to overlook some plot holes and cover your ears for the occasionally poorly delivered line- but man, this is definitely a Carpenter film. It has his trademarks all over it, more so than Cigarette Burns. This has the look, the sound, the gloss and grime of a carpenter movie. I love it because it has all the basic elements of other films of his and is basically an awkward cut and paste best of assembler, but what the hey! its a ball. It is funny, with a nice score (although I can understand why some may have issues with it), features some great effects (one of which is genuinely urn-nerving, towards the end- a combination of practical and CGI- trust me, you will know it when you see it) and with some nice acting from 60percent of the cast. Perlman is great, just as he was in Desperation- with another juicy scenery chewing role. In terms of expectation, don't go into this with another Cigarette Burns in mind. Think of it this way: Cigarette Burns = Halloween Pro-Life= The Fog, Prince of Darkness, Village of the Damned Have some fun, the message is nicely done and is at times quite disturbing, so be warned. A mess, but an entertaining mess at that.

15 year old Angelique (Caitlin Wachs) is pregnant from--she believes--a demon from hell. She gets to an abortion clinic where doctors try to figure out if she's crazy and what to do about her baby which is growing extremely quick. Her anti-abortion father Dwayne (Ron Perlman) wants to get her out of the clinic...and won't let anything stand in his way. Well-written and directed (of course) episode by John Carpenter. This is easily one of the most disturbing things he's ever done. It keeps you wondering and guessing, moves very quickly, has an extremely disturbing ultrasound sequence and some very gory and sick murders. Carpenter doesn't use the subtle approach to violence that he used for "Halloween" or "The Fog"--he shoves the blood in your face (like "The Thing"). Still it does work in the context of this story--it's supposed to be disturbing and sick to get its point across. Also there are some pretty decent special effects at the end. The only problem with this is that the fate of at least five characters are left hanging at the end (Perlman disappearing completely really bothered me) and the point of the story is kind of vague. Also the acting is not that good--except for Wachs and Perlman. And Wachs doesn't look even remotely 15. Still this is a disturbing little film by Carpenter. A 9.

Not a slight return to form from Carpenter but a complete return to form. Very much along the lines of Assault from precinct 13 both plotwise and stylewise as result from improvising on a 5 mil budget. The badguys want into an abortion clinic and the goodguys want out but as the plot progresses the distinguishing begins to blur.Niccetro does a phenomenal job on makeup effects so much so I was questioning whether the climactic effect was cgi or not... very slick. Good performances across the board. Good music from Cody Carpenter completely suited to his fathers film style. IMHO better than cigarette burns.Plenty of squeamish bits. Carpenter is operating well in a less oppressive film production system. I will jump at a DVD release A must see for fans like me!