Somewhere between foreign and not, 2005’s A Little Trip to Heaven is one of those
interesting independent movies that must have come together in a blur of
hastily tendered offers, short “windows” for actors, and bizarre coincidence. Directed
by erstwhile actor Baltasar Kormákur (101
Reykjavik), from a screenplay co-written with Edward Weinman, the Iceland-shot
movie is perhaps most notable for featuring Forest Whitaker, fresh off his
Oscar victory for The Last King of Scotland, which is
no doubt why it’s finally seeing a decently pushed DVD Stateside release.

Insurance agent Abe Holt (Whitaker, sporting a strangely indefinable
accent) is investigating the suspicious death of the driver of a burned-out
car. Dispatched by his pitiless boss Frank (Peter Coyote), Holt has to work out
whether the dead man, a con man with a criminal record, could possibly have
been the victim of an attempt to swindle the insurance company. When he meets
Isolde (Julia Stiles), the dead man’s sister, Holt slowly begins to lose his
professional distance, but becomes suspicious of her inscrutable husband Fred (Jeremy
Renner). Against the backdrop of a hostile, endless and harsh Midwest
winter, the characters reveal themselves to be multi-layered, involved in a
curious yet balanced plot. In the end Holt must decide if doing the right thing
is worth the price of doing something very, very wrong.

A Little Trip to
Heaven moves in slow-motion, carefully plotted, feet-through-the-snow steps,
and either benefits or suffers — depending on your familiarity with his
catalogue — from Renner’s previous experience with white trash antagonists. The
movie features cinematography of gorgeous disrepair, though its gloomy tone will
really appeal only to up-market arthouse audiences for whom literary-plotted comeuppance
is its own cinematic reward. If some of the inter-familial twists, then, are a
bit self-satisfied, many of the character details — like penny-pinching actuary
Abe asking for a receipt at a local dive restaurant — bring the material a nice
sense of proportion and full-bodiedness. I wish I could say Whitaker’s
performance had more of a natural pull, though; as is, it just feels like an
impulsive half-sketch. His accent comes and goes, and his burgeoning affinity and
sense of protection for Isolde hinges too much, and in late-developing fashion,
on her young son Thor (Alfred Harmsworth).

A Little Trip to
Heaven is presented with a Dolby digital 5.1 audio mix, alongside optional English
and Spanish subtitles. Alongside the cursory bonus inclusions of trailers for
this movie and other First Look releases is a so-so collection of behind-the-scenes
material. First up are 16 minutes worth of deleted and extended scenes,
including the movie’s original opening, which involves two characters plunging
off a cliff in a staged accident (portions of this footage are incorporated
into the finished product, so this gives away nothing). A 12-minute making-of
featurette includes interviews with cast and crew, and also reveals the Icelandic
word for actor, which is “leikari,” for what it’s worth. C+ (Movie) C+ (Disc)

First airing on the Showtime cable network in October 2005, the
“Masters of Horror” anthology series has parlayed its early critical plaudits
into deserved public acclaim, with each one-hour episode tackling provocative
ideas, and giving some of the genre’s leading practitioners a chance to
exercise their fright muscles. The latest offering is director John Carpenter’s
Pro-Life, a twisted tale of the
supernatural and the menacingly paternal.

Written by Drew McWeeny and Scott Swan (who also teamed up
with Carpenter for another “Masters” offering, Cigarette
Burns), Pro-Life is a combination
monster movie and siege film. It starts off with a near-accident on an isolated
mountain road. Two doctors at a remote country women’s health clinic, Alex
(Mark Feuerstein) and Kim (Emmanuelle Vaugier — above, in a shot perhaps unfairly unrepresentative of her work in the movie), are returning from an
afternoon fling when they almost hit young Angelique (Caitlin Wachs). After
driving her to their facility, they discover she happens to be the daughter of
the devoutly religious Dwayne Burcell (cult film veteran Ron Perlman, of Hellboy),
who’s had a restraining order placed against him for targeting the clinic for
its “ungodly activities.” A tense standoff quickly develops, and the situation
worsens when Alex and Kim discover Angelique is pregnant… and with a most
unusual baby. As Dwayne and his three sons attempt to “rescue” Angelique, all
involved soon discover that the only thing more dangerous than her would-be
saviors is the demonic secret growing within her.

The movie’s low-fi production detail sometimes comes across
as cheesy (Angelique is wheeled into the facility by an extra sporting a
“clinic escort” vest!), and Wachs is additionally not strong enough of an
actress to really pull her weight. The material itself is I guess a bit
scandalous, chiefly in its juxtaposition of themes, but Carpenter’s staging
frequently seems perfunctory and a half step off. What really helps sell Pro-Life, though, is Perlman’s
performance. He brings a quiet, chilling menace to the role of Dwayne, giving
all the scenes of relatively conventional human standoff a weight and
intimidation that the rest of the film can’t really touch.

Presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, enhanced for 16×9
televisions, Pro-Life comes with Dolby
digital 5.1 and Dolby digital 2.0 surround sound mixes, though the dialogue
seems mixed a bit too low in relation to the music. The release comes with the usual
impressive slew of supplemental bonus features that trick out Anchor
Bay’s “Masters of Horror” releases.
First up is an audio commentary track with Carpenter and writers McWeeny and Swan.
Much glad-handing ensues, but Carpenter eventually ducks out, mid-track, for a
cigarette break, and instructs the writers to continue praising him as much as
possible. A 15-minute making-of featurette includes interviews with all of the
primary cast and crew, but the six-minute effects featurette on the birthing of
the movie’s demon baby — complete with interviews and show-how from Howard
Berger and Greg Nicotera, plus actress Wachs — is in particular a lesson in
streamlined entertainment value. A storyboard gallery, a text biography of Carpenter
and list of his films, and a copy of the movie’s teleplay on DVD-ROM round
things out. B- (Movie) A- (Disc)