The Life Zone (2011)

Fantastic!

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

The Life Zone is a confusing movie. It's not that the plot was hard to follow or anything but it mistakenly paints It's own side as the bad guys. Talk about a bold move, or it would be if the creators had any kind of self-awareness. It's almost as if the makers of this movie just wanted to throw as many pro-life and anti-abortion propaganda and didn't care about anything else. It's okay though, most Christians don't care about the plot of the movie, the acting, directing or anything else so long as the message is one they like. The plot is rather thin. Three women, all pregnant and wanting an abortion. It's simple enough but things get complicated when they pass out and awaken in a hospital with nobody there except a creepy doctor who is trying to force them to give birth. This is important so keep it in mind for later.He forces them to watch propaganda movies of abortions while drinking warm milk. Is this supposed to be a message to the audience. Is it an attempt at symbolism? Who knows. It does work on two of the women and they decide to keep their babies The third one still wants her abortion. The twist is that the other two women weren't really there and the one wanting the abortion already died on the operating table. And the doctor, seemingly distraught over this commits suicide. She then realizes that she and the doctor are now in hell. End credits.The fact that the women are literally being forced to give birth shows that the makers of this movie don't understand why this is a bad thing. Remember free will? Christians always say that it's up to us to make the decisions. Sure a case could be made that she already made her decision and this is her punishment but it really doesn't feel that way. It feels more like a way to insert a hamfisted message that abortions are bad period.

I found this item by chance while looking up the films of Charles Durning. The plot appeared that it might be of some interest. This film was described as "a thriller with a message." Three women, who had been expecting to abort their babies, wake up to find that they -- along with a doctor -- have been kidnapped by what they believe to be a fanatical anti-abortion group. Their "jailer" addresses them from a closed-circuit television. It is his intention to compel them to go through with their unwanted pregnancies and deliver their babies. Instead of your usual horror fare, the women are dressed in nightgowns and fed decent food, while reading and watching propaganda on why abortion is bad.They are shown purportedly video taped messages from their families and they settle into a routine. Inevitably, they go into labour -- simultaneously! The babies are delivered -- one woman (the most outspoken pro-abortionist of the three) gives birth to twins.Afterwards, the one who had twins is sick and in pain. After examining her, the doctor is dumbfounded to discover something that she says "is impossible." She informs the woman she is still pregnant. The woman says "it can't be." Suddenly the two other women are gone; it turns out that the woman had died on the abortion table and the doctor had committed suicide -- they are, and always have been, in Hell.The story for most of the film went along a clear and straight forward premise. It turned out to be a blasé story with little intrigue for the most part. But the twist at the end ruined it even on that level.The whole premise that a grumpy old man kidnapped three pregnant women from abortion clinics to force them to give birth is plausible. The whole story presents that premise with the videos from the families and the interaction of the three women and doctor. The reveal at the end that only the one girl and the doctor are real and that they are in hell totally invalidated everything that happened throughout the movie. The entire story of the film is shown to have been a deception; there's just no reason for such a development. They are in Hell -- there's no reason for them to be told otherwise. And the faked videos from the families really is a stupid turn. They are dead so their families wouldn't be sending any such messages -- there's no reason for it.The twist at the end only made a story that was lack-luster at best, a complete waste of time.

No, this is not a horror film. This is a film that argues women are simply baby-makers and if you have an abortion, you are going straight to hell. The man who made this film is a right wing advocate who thought he'd pull a fast one by disguising this as a horror movie to unsuspecting audiences. Fortunately, the film tanked as word got out by Stephen Colbert among others that this was vile propaganda of the cruelest kind. Only a fundamentalist would enjoy this film and that is who it should have been targeted to if the filmmaker had any integrity. Fundamentalists have actually tried to claim that this film addresses both sides of the issue, but given that the woman who has an abortion ends of being tortured in hell at the end, this argument is patently ridiculous.

Wow... that's all I have to say. Wow... OK I have more to say. The blonde girl was HORRIBLE! Some parts I thought, oh maybe she isn't that bad, but n the end I give her 2/5 stars on an acting scale. It is true what others have said about this movie. It is just an anti-abortion movie. I did give it three stars though. And the three reasons why... 1)Decent story line. Would make a cute book for young adults who are extremely religious. 2)I liked Staci(Lindsey Haun). Good acting, liked her characters personality. =) 3)Unexpected ending. Stupid, and kind of annoying, but very unexpected.All in all, this movie was kind of bad. Wont watch it again, or recommend.-Mattie Nyte-