Find Movies & TV
Home
Live TV
On Demand
Discover
Explore
Movies & TV Shows
Most Popular
Leaving Soon
Categories
Action
Animation
Comedy
Crime
Descriptive Audio
Documentary
Drama
En Español
Horror
Music
Romance
Sci-Fi
Thriller
Western
Explore
Browse Channels
Featured Channels
Stargate by MGM
Hallmark Movies & More
The First 48 by A&E
Categories
Hit TV
Drama TV
True Crime
Comedy
News
Sports
Reality
History & Science
Movies
Sci-Fi & Action
Classic TV
Food & Home
Lifestyle
Nature & Travel
Daytime TV
Game Shows
Kids & Family
Anime+
Chills & Thrills
International
En Español
Music
Sign In
Belly of the Beast
Directed by
Erika Cohn
TV-14
2020
82m
Documentary
,
Drama
7.3
100%
83%
Add to Watchlist
When an unlikely duo discovers a pattern of illegal sterilizations in women's prisons, they wage a near impossible battle against the Department of Corrections.
More
Where to Watch Belly of the Beast
Kanopy
Free
MZ Choice Amazon Channel
Subscription
Google Play Movies
Rent $3.99
Buy $12.99
YouTube
Rent $3.99
Buy $12.99
Cast of Belly of the Beast
Kelly Dillon
Cynthia Chandler
Corey Johnson
Courtney Hooks
Erika Cohn
Director / Producer
Nicole Docta
Producer
Christen Hepuakoamana'a Marquez
Producer
Angela Tucker
Producer
Belly of the Beast Ratings & Reviews
Kevin Ward
July 7, 2025
Really powerful documentary that sheds light on a pattern forced sterilizations, unauthorized hysterectomies, and other general inadequacy in health care for women (particularly women of color) in the California Department of Corrections. It’s extremely troubling seeing the eugenics playbook being an active part of our criminal justice system in the CA DOC, and even more so that it’s very likely also happening in many other states as well. What is with our wont to govern women’s bodies and their reproductive health in particular? Kelli Dillon’s story is heartbreakingly sad and impossible not to be moved by her account. Highly recommend this doc, especially given the other events taking hold in the US Justice system.
Backseat Mafia
Rob Aldam
Cohn does a great job of highlighted a horrendous injustice, demonstrating how this exploitation takes place and following the brave women campaigning for change.
World Socialist Web Site
Joanne Laurier
The 82-minute film sheds light on the brutality of mass incarceration, a symptom of the vast social inequality in America.
PopMatters
Chris Barsanti
Belly of the Beast is an effective introduction to a current issue many viewers would imagine was consigned to the past.
48 Hills
Dennis Harvey
Incredibly, such programs in the state were perfectly legal until 1979...
KDHX (St. Louis)
Martha K. Baker
No one should watch this without becoming exercised over racist exploitation of eugenics.
The Movie Cricket
Sean P. Means
Tackles a tough subject - the forced sterilization of women inmates at a California prison - with journalistic fire and sensitive artistry.
Hyperallergic
Bedatri D. Choudhury
Demonstrates how exclusionary our social myths around motherhood and giving birth are.
Austin Chronicle
Sarah Marloff
Visually, the first half of the film provides eye-catching contrasts - expansive green fields and semi-trucks, bright days and dark early mornings, inside versus outside.
Tribune News Service
Katie Walsh
At once a thrilling legal drama and heartbreaking depiction of devastating human rights violations that you can't imagine happening in the 21st century.
Common Sense Media
Tara McNamara
Mature themes, strong language in prison eugenics docu.
Eye for Film
Jennie Kermode
Thorough and incisive, this is a documentary which restrains its anger to focus on the evidence, but many viewers will likely find it harder to hold back. For those who haven't seen this side of the US before, it will be particularly unsettling.
FilmWeek (LAist)
Wade Major
In terms of horrifying us? Absolutely, it's a very effective film, but it leaves a crucial question unanswered.
TheArtsStl
Sarah Boslaugh
One of the oddest sights in this film, although perhaps not so odd if you have much experience with the power hierarchies in American medicine, was that of OB-GYNs defending the practice of surgical sterilization of female prisoners...
New York Times
Lovia Gyarkye
"Belly of the Beast" does not reach for happy endings and is most absorbing in its thesis, which makes the stakes of this battle against human rights violations loud and clear.
Midwest Film Journal
Evan Dossey
A harrowing documentary about the practice of forced sterilization.
San Diego Reader
Scott Marks
Inside the belly of documentarian Erika Cohn's Beast lurks a monstrosity more appalling than horror fiction.
Watch Belly of the Beast Videos
Belly Of The Beast
Belly Of The Beast
Trailer
Take Plex everywhere
Watch free anytime, anywhere, on almost any device.
See the full list of supported devices
Home
Live TV
On Demand
Discover
