There are two clinics lost deep and thriving in the outback of a great Australian desert. The first of these is an thespian factory, an ungodly place were names the likes of Kidman, Blanchett, Rush, Jackman, Bana, Ledger, Watts and Crowe (actually his DNA was imported from New Zealand) roll off of a seemingly endless conveyor, one that seems set permanently on producing world class acting talent. The second is the titular subject of Director James Rabbitts' 2010 horror, and it proves one of maternal proportions.
Exploitation Cinema
Horror has long twisted its spindly finger into the eye of political correctness and accepted social norm. The Clinic is no exception as it slips itself into a genre subcategory defined by its adherence to pregnancy and loss. Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo’s 2007 Inside (À l'intérieur) is a seminal example of this controversial style that centers on invasion of the womb.
The Clinic: Synopsis
The film opens with a young couple Beth (Tabrett Bethell) and Cameron (Andy Whitfield) driving an endless spear of road, one that stabs deep into a vast expanse of sand and nothingness. Beth is pregnant and it becomes very obvious very quickly that the idyllic banter between her and her husband is but a prelude to much darker times. And dark it is, with Beth disappearing from her motel room and awaking, submerged in a bathtub of stinging ice, with only a hastily stitched wound were her unborn child once lay.
Of course its all extremely farfetched, not so much the baby snatching itself but the scale and motivation behind the twisted crime itself. You see, Beth is not alone. She soon discovers more dazed and disoriented woman, each one torn from their unborn child such as she. Each one identically dressed – a smock emblazoned with a sequential roman digit. But then what begins as a harrowing and morbid crime soon reveals itself to be much more – a pitched battle for survival and an unknowing journey toward a truth long since buried.
Tabrett Bethell Stars
The film takes great advantage of its simple yet labyrinth-like setting. Its multitude of corridors, animal pens and surgically cold rooms all conspire toward creating a genuine stage of futility and impending loss. The actors here are impressive, with Tabrett Bethell (Legend of the Seeker) of particular note. She works well at exhibiting just the right balance of empathy within her unrelenting resolve. Unlike many characters that find themselves in the same brand of predicament, we want her to succeed.
James Rabbitts Directs
But this is not a film without flaw. It carries its ridiculously unlikely subtext well (a prime example of belief suspended) but stumbles at its very end. It painfully struggles as multiple plot threads are hastily clamped and tied off. But you just know things have been mistimed when a leading antagonist has to basically speak the films obligatory twist directly into camera. Coincidence is also called upon to place pivotal characters in pivotal spots just at the right time. This of course diminishes the overall impact of the film and is something of a disappointment after all of its previous hard work.
The Clinic finishes out as a cut above the usual and arrives primed with keenly crafted sequences that play imaginatively with the narrative's faceless stalking doom. Purists will no doubt pick holes in the film's fractured credibility but with this being director James Rabbitts’ very first feature, it is nonetheless a job very well done.
The Clinic
Tagline: The truth lies within
- Director: James Rabbitts (Night Train)
- Writer: James Rabbitts (The Aurora Stone)
- Cast: Tabrett Bethell (Strangers Lovers Killers) as Beth, Freya Stafford (Summer Coda) as Veronica, Clare Bowen (10 Days to Die) as Ivy, Sophie Lowe (Blame) as Allison, Andy Whitfield (Spartacus: Blood and Sand) as Cameron
- DVD Release Date… February 17, 2011 (AUS)
- Filming Locations… Deniliquin, New South Wales, Australia
- Runtime… 95 minutes
- Accelerator Films, Great Southern Land Entertainment, RMB Productions
- View Trailer: The Clinic
Hari Navarro - Hari Navarro is Topic Editor for Suite 101's Horror Film section and Editor/ Writer at online horror review site, The Hell Street ...
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