| Ron Perlman | ... | Dwayne Burcell | |
| Mark Feuerstein | ... | Alex O'Shea | |
| Emmanuelle Vaugier | ... | Kim | |
| Bill Dow | ... | Dr. Kiefer | |
| Chad Krowchuk | ... | Darry Burcell | |
| Graeme McComb | ... | Caleb Burcell | |
| Benjamin Rogers | ... | Cole Burcell | |
| Caitlin Wachs | ... | Angelique Burcell | |
| Biski Gugushe | ... | Kiernan | |
| Jeremy Jones | ... | Doug | |
| Lisa Bunting | ... | Joan | |
| Stephen Dimopoulos | ... | Sam | |
| Ashley Whillans | ... | Isobel | |
| Grace Bauer | ... | Marie | |
| Arabella Bushnell | ... | Grace | |
| Derek Mears | ... | The Father |
| Episode Crew |
Directed by | |||
| John Carpenter | |||
Writing credits | ||
| Mick Garris | (creator) | |
| Drew McWeeny | (written by) & | |
| Scott Swan | (written by) | |
Produced by | |||
| Keith Addis | .... | executive producer | |
| Morris Berger | .... | executive producer | |
| Steve Best | .... | associate producer | |
| Ben Browning | .... | co-producer | |
| Stephen R. Brown | .... | executive producer (as Steve Brown) | |
| Andrew Deane | .... | executive producer | |
| Mick Garris | .... | executive producer | |
| Adam Goldworm | .... | co-producer | |
| John W. Hyde | .... | executive producer | |
| Lisa Richardson | .... | producer | |
| Tom Rowe | .... | producer | |
| Pascal Verschooris | .... | line producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Cody Carpenter | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Attila Szalay | (director of photography) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| Patrick McMahon | |||
Casting by | |||
| Stuart Aikins | |||
| Sean Cossey | |||
| Lindsey Hayes Kroeger | |||
| David Rapaport | (as David H. Rapaport) | ||
Production Design by | |||
| David Fischer | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Teresa Weston | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Ide Foyle | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Lyn Kelly | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Howard Berger | .... | special effects makeup | |
| Mike Fields | .... | on-set key makeup artist (as Michael Fields) | |
| Sarah Graham | .... | on-set key makeup artist | |
| Terry Hanson | .... | first assistant hair stylist | |
| Jana Hudson | .... | first assistant makeup (as Tanya Hudson) | |
| Gregory Nicotero | .... | special effects makeup | |
| Adina Shore | .... | key hair stylist | |
| Margaret Solomon | .... | key makeup | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Ania Musiatowicz | .... | third assistant director | |
| Darren Robson | .... | second assistant director | |
| Ian Samoil | .... | first assistant director | |
Art Department | |||
| Andrei Andrianko | .... | assistant art director | |
| Nick Dibley | .... | property master (as Nicholas Dibley) | |
| Jim Geddes | .... | construction coordinator | |
| John McIntosh | .... | greens | |
| Jake Miller | .... | assistant property master | |
| Nathalie Morin | .... | assistant set decorator (as Natalie Morin) | |
| Zbibgniew Scheller | .... | construction foreman (as Zbish Scheller) | |
| John Wilcox | .... | paint coordinator | |
| Jean Brophey | .... | on-set dresser (uncredited) | |
Sound Department | |||
| Anke Bakker | .... | sound supervisor | |
| Brian Campbell | .... | dialogue editor | |
| Jay Cheetham | .... | background sound editor | |
| Jacqueline Cristianini | .... | adr supervisor | |
| Jacqueline Cristianini | .... | dialogue supervisor | |
| Kris Fenske | .... | sound designer | |
| Devan Kraushar | .... | sound effects editor | |
| Jason Mauza | .... | foley editor | |
| Laurie Melhus | .... | audio post-production coordinator | |
| Glen Noseworthy | .... | adr mixer | |
| Iain Pattison | .... | re-recording mixer | |
| Sebastian Salm | .... | sound mixer | |
| Adam Sharpe | .... | re-recording mixer | |
| Paul A. Sharpe | .... | re-recording mixer (as Paul Sharpe) | |
| Shane Shemko | .... | foley artist | |
| Colin Smith | .... | boom operator | |
| Cam Wagner | .... | foley artist | |
| Matthew Wilson | .... | sound effects editor | |
| James Fonnyadt | .... | sound designer: driving missions (uncredited) | |
| Todd R. Mason | .... | sound effects recordist (uncredited) | |
| Will Volkmann | .... | adr recordist (uncredited) | |
Special Effects by | |||
| Jaremy Aiello | .... | effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group | |
| Rob Derry | .... | effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group | |
| Alex Diaz | .... | effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group | |
| Eric Fiedler | .... | effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group | |
| Robert Freitas | .... | effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group (as Rob Freitas) | |
| Beth Hathaway | .... | effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group | |
| Derek Heselton | .... | best boy special effects | |
| Grady Holder | .... | effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group | |
| Akihito Ikeda | .... | effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group | |
| Derek Krout | .... | effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group (as Derek Krouse) | |
| Jim Leonard | .... | effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group | |
| Clare Mulroy | .... | effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group (as Claire Mulroy) | |
| Ben Rittenhouse | .... | effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group | |
| Shannon Shea | .... | effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group | |
| Wayne Szybunka | .... | special effects coordinator | |
| A.J. Venuto | .... | effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group | |
| Mike Hyrman | .... | special effects technician (uncredited) | |
| Chris Sturges | .... | special effects technician (uncredited) | |
| Attila Vaski | .... | lead/fab/asst (uncredited) | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Steve Au | .... | cg artist | |
| Matt Belbin | .... | digital effects editor (as Matthew Belbin) | |
| Sébastien Bergeron | .... | digital effects supervisor | |
| Michael Goddard | .... | cg artist (as Mike Goddard) | |
| Annabelle Kent | .... | digital compositor | |
| Muzaffer Korkut | .... | cg artist (as Muzzaffer Korkut) | |
| Todd Liddiard | .... | digital compositor | |
| Lionel Lim | .... | digital compositor | |
| Stephen Paschke | .... | cg artist | |
| Bryce Rieger | .... | digital compositor | |
| Lisa K. Sepp | .... | visual effects producer (as Lisa Sepp-Wilson) | |
| Michael Suhr | .... | cg artist | |
| Jonah West | .... | digital compositor | |
| Lee Wilson | .... | visual effects supervisor | |
| Jayson Castro | .... | visual effects production assistant (uncredited) | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Sandy Cooper | .... | first assistant camera | |
| Lane Koch | .... | first assistant camera | |
| Mike Kolafa | .... | gaffer (as Michael Kolafa) | |
| Steve Sherlock | .... | key grip | |
| Jared Smith | .... | best boy lighting | |
| Shai Vera | .... | best boy grip (as Shae Vera) | |
| Peter Wilke | .... | camera operator: "b" camera | |
| Michael Wrinch | .... | camera operator: "a" camera (as Mike Wrinch) | |
| Aaron Haesler | .... | second assistant camera (uncredited) | |
| Jeremy Spofford | .... | second assistant camera (uncredited) | |
Casting Department | |||
| Sandra-Ken Freeman | .... | extras casting | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Glenna Owen | .... | assistant costume designer | |
| Tyler Tone | .... | set costume supervisor | |
| Debra Torpe | .... | costume truck supervisor (uncredited) | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Richard Cordes | .... | color timer | |
| Andrea Dixon | .... | color timer | |
| Asim Matin | .... | assistant editor | |
| Matt Venables | .... | post-production coordinator | |
| Mike Williamson | .... | editorial coordinator | |
Music Department | |||
| Mike Beckett | .... | music editor | |
| Jennifer Ross | .... | music supervisor | |
| Ed Shearmur | .... | composer: main title (as Edward Shearmur) | |
| Joseph Bishara | .... | score mixer (uncredited) | |
Transportation Department | |||
| Louie Hausner | .... | transportation captain | |
| John Swetlikoe | .... | transportation coordinator | |
| Duane Shearer | .... | office driver (uncredited) | |
| Jovan Vujatovic | .... | picture car coordinator (uncredited) | |
Other crew | |||
| Christine Barrie | .... | stand-in | |
| Michael Bishop | .... | key production assistant | |
| Laura Collini | .... | script supervisor (as Laura June Colini) | |
| Genessa Davis | .... | assistant production coordinator | |
| Jim Desroches | .... | production coordinator (as James Desroches) | |
| Annie Doyon | .... | assistant accountant | |
| Scott 'Big Dog' Franklin | .... | assistant location manager (as Scott Franklin) | |
| Cameron Grierson | .... | assistant to producer | |
| Cameron Grierson | .... | script coordinator | |
| Richter Hartig | .... | production auditor: IDT Entertainment (as Richter Q. Hartig) | |
| Dave Harvey | .... | assistant accountant | |
| Elissa Howarth | .... | production administration manager: IDT Entertainment | |
| Andrea Kaufman | .... | production coordinator: IDT Entertainment (as Andrea M. Kaufman) | |
| Katy Lew | .... | executive administrator | |
| Susan Nestibo | .... | location manager | |
| Ross Redhead | .... | assistant to producers | |
| Adrian Salpeter | .... | assistant to producers | |
| Stephen Tibbetts | .... | stand-in (as Stephen Tibbets) | |
| Bill Vigars | .... | unit publicist | |
| Beverly Wiens | .... | production accountant | |
| Anthony Bortolussi | .... | on-set key production assistant (uncredited) | |
| Stephanie Brown | .... | production assistant (uncredited) | |
| Nancy Heller | .... | office manager: Anthem Visual Effects (uncredited) | |
| Simona Pandele | .... | production assistant (uncredited) | |
| Anna Wong | .... | fitness trainer: Emmanuelle Vaugier (uncredited) | |
| Main series | Episode guide | Full cast and crew |
| Company credits | External reviews | IMDb TV section |
| IMDb Horror section | IMDb USA section | Add this title to MyMovies |
John Carpenter doesn't quite reach the comeback high he got last year with Cigarette Burns, the first in his entries in the Masters of Horror series. But it's definitely a showcase for him to display his storytelling panache on a typically grisly and hell-bound tale. He gets to also mix a few elements from past pictures with something that almost borders on being formula for some horror directors following Rosemary's Baby. The story starts out with the kind of weird, religious ambiguity of They Live, as we're thrust into a story that has implications that really are, at least at the start, beyond our thinking. But then we enter in Assault on Precinct 13 mode, as the 'good guys' (err, the doctors who just want to keep Angelique, played by Cailtin Wachs) away from her crazed, God-abiding father Dwayne (Ron Perelman, always a pleasure to see in a role as un-relenting grim and hard-edged as this), which then turns into a gun-blazing blood-bath. And finally, we get the element of the Thing, which, of course, is a 'thing' that baffles everyone, except for the audience.
I'm sure that even if I didn't know the basic premise of Pro-Life, I would've figured it out anyway after the first five, ten minutes. Part of the opening ambiguity is a little random- that Angelique happens to be picked up after running through the woods by doctors working at a women's medical clinic- but from there on it is pretty thrilling work done, and pretty graphic. The make-up and special effects from Gregoy Nicotero's team, per usual, are top-notch, and being on the 'anything-goes-type' of cable channel doesn't hurt either. If anything it also provides Carpenter- via his writers- to have one of the most cringe-worthy scenes Carpenter's ever done, which is Perelman's own 'abortion' on a certain doctor as penance for something that happened to one of his kids. Some of this, too, is quite funny, mostly with the demon baby and the circumstances around it (i.e. when Angelique's water breaks, it ain't exactly water), plus the baby itself. Whether it's meant to be funny or not I can't say, but there's no mistaking that underneath some of this terrifying and harsh subject matter, is Carpenter making his own satirical jab at the abortion issue (and what side he really takes could be anyone's call, though the reverse of the title is what I'm leaning towards).
Unlike Cigarette Burns though, Pro-Life is not without its liabilities- some major ones in fact. One of those is Cody Carpenter's musical score, which in spots isn't bad but in its repetitive mode (over half an hour of a rhythmic beat that only stops at a certain point), and it detracts at time from the total potential of the true excitement; his father has proved to be much better at maintaining this kind of score for the material. And the ending, while not a total disaster, is very strange to me, and had me with a look on my face like 'uh, OK'. I suppose it ends up fitting into a kind of twisted catharsis for Angelique's situation, but even for the amount of disbelief needed it's a big leap to take. But all this aside, I was very glad I got to see one of the masters of modern horror having his fun with the material, and giving some good screen time for such Perelman, who it could be argued gets to steal his scenes however in such a style that works for the demented, voice-guided character.