"Masters of Horror" Pro-Life (2006)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

John Carpenter

Writers:

Mick Garris (creator)
Drew McWeeny (written by) ...
(more)

TV Series:

"Masters of Horror" (2005)

Original Air Date:

14 November 2006 (Season 2, Episode 5)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

Determined to "rescue" his pregnant daughter from an abortion clinic, a religious fanatic and his sons plan a violent firearm assault just as the doctors suspect her pregnancy might not be of this world.

Plot Keywords:

Abortion Clinic | Pregnancy | Deformed Baby | Masters Of Horror | Shot Through Door

Cast

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

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

Production Management
Margo Coughlin Zimmerman	....	production manager: IDT Entertainment (as Margo Zimmerman)
Sally Dixon	....	post-production supervisor
Sheri Mayervich	....	unit production manager
Stacey Jade Smart	....	executive in charge of production: IDT Entertainment

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)

Production Companies

• Starz Productions
• Nice Guy Productions
• Industry Entertainment
• IDT Entertainment

Distributors

• Kadokawa Entertainment (2008) (Japan) (DVD)
• Premiere (2009) (Germany) (TV)
• Showtime Networks (2007) (USA) (TV)
• Splendid Film (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Starz Home Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (DVD)
• WoWow (2007) (Japan) (TV)

Special Effects

• K.N.B. Effects Group (special make-up effects)
• Anthem Visual Effects (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Thomas Cobb Design  main title design (as The Thomas Cobb Group)
• Sharpe Sound Studios  sound post-production
• Background, The  walla artists
• Rainmaker  film lab services
• Rainmaker  post-production services
• Reunion Pictures  production services

Runtime:

57 min | Germany:54 min (cut)

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

USA:TV-MA | Australia:R (2007) | Germany:18 (TV rating) | Germany:18 (DVD rating)

Company:

Starz Productions

Movie Connections:

Edited into Demon Baby: Birthing the FX Sequence (2007) (V)

Carpenter gives us his take on Roe v Wade...well, not exactly, but it's a nicely gruesome thriller

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.