The clinic review

Back in the late 70s, the pregnant Tabrett Bethell and her husband, (the late) Andy Whitfield, are on route to visit relatives, a trip that takes them through the middle of nowhere. They stop off at a shabby motel where the owner is so tight that he even classes the unborn as a third occupant.

That night Bethell, who has been having her nights disturbed by strange dreams, has a sleep while Whitfield pops out for food. When he gets back, she has gone, and the search for her begins. The action then switches to her, and she wakes up in an ice bath naked, and her baby has been cut out of her.

She’s in what appears to be an abandoned warehouse, and after struggling out of the bath and exploring she finds few more women (Sophie Lowe and Freya Stafford) amongst them, in the same predicament as herself. If that wasn’t bad enough, someone then starts bumping them off.

This Aussie horror is the debut from writer/director James Rabbits, and if you are one of those who never ever wants to have children, this would make a great double bill alongside ‘It’s Alive’. To be fair, this is a decent first effort from Rabbits, to manages to hold our interest while the story unfolds nicely without going off down pointless dead ends and not confusing the audience.

It is very interesting at times, and the acting must be applauded, particularly the 11th hour pivotal role taken by veteran actress Elizabeth Alexander. Some, however, will no doubt start getting agitated as while the slow unravelling isn’t confusing, it is rather annoying.

The narrative would have benefited by being split, as we are following each of the couple separately. Both are laid back, lovable and clearly in love, and the camera is certainly enamoured with Bethell. There just seems to be too much time spent with both of them once they have been separated.

Things also start to stop adding up, and while this is supposed to be a fictitious tale based on true accounts, it’s hard to buy into that as it seems to be just too OTT. This is certainly a good looking film, but is just too uneven and unbelievable. It’s credentials as a horror are also questionable, and it doesn’t seem to know itself which genre it belongs to. Sadly, The Clinic has to be placed on that overcrowded shelf labelled ‘should have been better’.