The Life Zone

If you don't like abortion or fancy words like "relevance", but you do like the voices in your head, this is your movie. The Life Zone is story of three women: a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead. No, I'm not kidding. Regardless of the feelings of their fetuses or God (lord knows no one needs more protection than an omniscient and omnipotent being) they have decided to have an abortion -- or did they? Not if Robert Loggia and a doctor/failed baby machine have anything to do with it! Together, they kidnapped the three women, and threaten to kill them if they self-abort. And yes, they are the good guys. The story is so thin and feebly told that to pad the run time, the prison scenes alternate with cutaways to anti-abortion propaganda; for example, alleged man on the street interviews that are performed by the cast and crew. I have no idea why Robert "Scarface" Loggia is in this film, but I like to think that he himself was kidnapped and was forced to read his lines. He never actually interacts with the other actors, so this is a real possibility. Blanche Baker, the actress who plays the doctor, had a major role in -- wait for it -- The Handmaid's Tale (1990). It's true. Look it up.

It is a moral argument. Anyone associated with this production should be embarrassed. This opinion is not based on my position regarding the moral questions addressed. It is a warning to anyone who might think what is being offered is entertainment. The 1.9 rating on this site speaks for itself.

First off, we should make clear that this is not a horror film. There are no elements of horror excepting the underlying execution of the message in itself.

I must make clear that I am actually a conservative, and this film did the great task of making both sides of the argument of abortion look terrible. Regardless of what ideals you yourself might hold, the film makes a jest of the topic and presents a poor argument even of the side it is obviously on.

However, to truly understand this story, I think it necessary to understand Ken Del Vecchio. Ken Del Vecchio, the writer and one of the wonderfully talented actors (sarcasm), actually has origins in the law field. His first film, coming from this background, is about a hotshot defense lawyer that no woman can resist. If that does not spell out for you what kind of talent Kenneth Del Vecchio has, it might also help to know that nearly all, if not every film written by Ken Del Vecchio contains one lawyer character. This is because Ol' Kenneth is unable to see any world views apart from that of a lawyer. And even that view is so twisted as to strip away any wonder as to why he felt the need to leave the profession.

Somehow, though, Kenneth believes that he has a great background from which he can argue women's choices and place in the world. This belief most likely stems from the fact that Ken Del Vecchio is actually a full-fledged misogynist who believes he actually has a first-hand understanding of women. It obviously stems from his law days when women were throwing themselves at him (sarcasm, of course). He must have spent hours in bed with women, engaged in passionate conversation about the very sensual topic of abortion. This has afforded him the ability to know what womens' rights (which according to Ken, appear out of thin air) are and even what justice awaits them in the after-life (knowing the inner machinations of Christian Justice as intimately as the women he has frequented as a humble lawman).

Before this review gets too long, suffice to say that even if the rating isn't enough of an indicator, know that regardless of whether you're pro-life or pro-choice, this is nothing but forcefully offensive drivel. But then again, which of Kenneth's films can be said not to be?

I see all these peeps complaining, they say there pro choice but what about the unborn baby choice, its isnt right to starve or vaccum or tear limb from limb or stab a needle that vauses cardiac arrest. Fetuses early as 7 weeks already have little nubs forming ect. I will be praying for these pro abortsin the review section. This movie is awesome im a screenwriter and this isthe kind of horror i like.

Oh my jesus forgiveus our sins save us from the fires of hell especially those in most need of thy mercy.

Also tothe pro aborts if you dont like the movie dont watch it. Also life is short eternity is forever.

If you're going to make a movie that tries to persuade people to your beliefs, make sure you have confidence in what you're arguing. The movie is about three women who wake up in a dark, green- filtered, grungy hospital; they were planning on having an abortion, but they were captured and now they're being forced to give birth. It tries to visually emulate the Saw franchise, but instead of the characters being tortured, the audience is tortured with bad acting, annoying characters, boring dialogue and pitiful attempts at horror.

There is one woman who is adamant about having an abortion. She's basically a straw-man who only spouts easily refuted arguments. This is where the movie shows its lack of confidence. If they truly felt like they were in the right, they wouldn't resort to making this character the way they did (i.e. immature, rude, prissy, entitled, stuck up). Instead, they would have created a real challenge for their position and countered it with clever arguments and thought experiments.

I've seen thoughtful, insightful arguments for both positions, and none of them are in this film. This film won't convince anyone nor would it give people who are pro-life any better ammunition for their position.

Aside from the debate, it also fails when it attempts horror movie tropes. It tries to use scary film techniques and settings, but doesn't know how to implement them, or just doesn't know how they work. I've seen high school students with better skills than this.

I could go on about how most of the movie is just watching people debate, how nobody acts realistically, or the bizarre and confusing plot twist about one of the characters, but all I need to say is that this is a padded, boring movie that is more interested in making fun of someone rather than truly engaging in a discussion.