The Clinic (2010)

"The Clinic" has been called a horror film, but sick is probably a better description. There is nothing supernatural about it but ultimately it is the things human beings do to each other that are really horrific. Set in 1979, this Australian film sees a heavily pregnant woman travelling through the Outback with the father of her soon to be born child.They check into a motel, he takes leave of her for awhile, and when he returns, she has disappeared. At this point and in view of his later actions, the viewer might be expecting him to rescue the damsel in the nick of time. Alas, he perishes in a car crash en route to do so. Meanwhile, she wakes up in a tub full of iced water minus her baby.The rest of the plot is equally sick, not to mention extremely implausible, although it is said to be based very loosely on true stories of infant abduction. Ironically and most sickeningly, not only is infant abduction a reality but so is foetal abduction; there have been a number of cases in recent years, perpetrated by lone, deranged women, perhaps most notably that of Julie Corey in the United States (where else?) who murdered her neighbour, cut out her baby, and tried to pass it off as her own."The Clinic" is not that gory, and the mastermind is not the usual villain, but unless you like depravity for the sake of it, best to give this one a miss.

A couple drives around deserted roads in Australia when they are driven off the road by some old ambulance. They end up in a motel. At night the husband goes off to get something to eat. When he returns, his pregnant wife is missing. The cop and the motel attendant are a bunch of creeps. The cop ends up arresting the husband. While in the cop car he takes the cop's gun and the car and goes in search of his wife.Meanwhile the woman wakes up in a bathtub full of ice. Her lower abdomen is sutured. They have taken her baby via cesarean. She meets other women in the same condition, they all dressed like inmates with a number. "The Clinic" they find themselves in is a cow farm with some buildings that look like a factory. But they realize that someone is after them. Someone is killing them one by one. At some point they find the babies. They are color coded in cages. No one knows whose baby belongs to whom. Inside the mother's wombs are corresponding colored tags. That's the only way to identify the baby, by cutting the mother open, and indeed the killer does just that.But there are other people as well. A couple looking at all this via cameras. And there is some mentally disabled guy who disposes of the mess left behind by the athletic killer.Eventually our girl confronts the bad guys and finds out what the clinic is all about. It's a clever idea that involves a contest to determine which mother is the fittest and that way baby is stronger. There is also a twist near the end.The Clinic has a lot going for it. The lead actress, Tabrett Bethell, is one of the most beautiful actresses I've seen in a while. Poor Andy Whitfield gets a rather thankless role. The idea is great. One has to remember, as we are told at the beginning, that the story takes place before DNA testing was developed, otherwise it all seems pretty silly. In fact, one has to see this movie till the very end for the logic to work out. Though, not all questions are resolved. Still, The Clinic is a unique and interesting movie. The end proves particularly satisfying. Ordinarily, I'm not a fan of movies that don't give us a lot to work with until the end, but The Clinic gives us plenty to forgive some of the duller moments in the middle.

On the weekend, I will shuffle through On Demand looking for a good, well decent horror movie. While I don't think that "The Clinic" falls perfectly into that category, it does fall into the suspense genre, without a doubt. You have Beth and her boyfriend driving to her Mom's for Christmas, a big truck almost runs them over and then they decide to stay at a hotel for the night and head out in the morning. Add creepy hotel manager, mix in no gas in the car and you have the premise for a really good suspense movie. Beth is kidnapped while her boyfriend goes in search of Chinese food and then the mayhem commences. This movie was very good for what it is, the details to the story are all around if you are willing to pay attention. So it was a good choice for my random Friday horror selection. I wasn't satisfied completely with the ending so that is why it's 8 out of 10.

My friend and I are big fans of the B Horror movies on Netflix. The Clinic is about an Australian couple on a road trip, typical. While out getting food the pregnant girlfriend gets kidnapped. She awakens to find her baby was taken out of her and she is now stitched up. She find she isn't alone, and she also soon figures out she has to survive while the other mothers die in order to see her baby. Through the whole movie, I could predict what was going to happen. For a low rated film the plot was interesting. It reminded me of The Hunger Games in some sort. I would not recommend the movie, unless you were like me, and like those type of films.