Monday, May 12, 2008

Teeth: Don't Go Down There!!!

WARNING: I did not pull back or censor myself in this review. It is about sexuality and horror. Also, the opinions in this movie reflect my interpretation of the movie, not my personal beliefs.
Let's talk about a controversal movie. Rosemary's Baby was a horror movie designed to scare women. It was a woman betrayed by a social group, her husband, and her doctors. Who is a better victim than a pregnant woman? Obviously girls could relate to her more. Teeth, recently released on DVD, is the scariest movie for men, aimed at the sexuality. Rosemay would have delivered vengeance she had these teeth.

Teeth follows young Dawn (convincingly played by unknown Jess Weixler), a girl both eager for sex, but also brainwashed by absence groups. The slightest sexual urge guilts her and she can't even masturbate. The real danger, however, is the vagini dentata, which is latin for the mythological teeth in the vagina. When she's tense, we fear it will bite her fingers off if she masturbates, when she's near-raped, there's a sudden crunch to disarm him.

The movie is horror-comedy, being they are hand-in-hand. The absence group is indeed brainwashed, avoiding even PG movies because they have making out. Too much pressure turns them to give in, but when guys don't accept "no," as an answer, they quickly learn it wasn't a rejection, it was a warning.

The joy of the movie is seeing Dawn slowly come into her comfort zone. She is at first exploring herself, a danger we know is there. Sex is uncomfortable and her body fights back. She eases up and enjoys it, but at the first sign the guy is betraying her, using her for sex, she assures he won't be able to again. In the end, her body is a weapon, just like all women able to use the lure of sex to get men as they want, she is able to disarm violently.

We may cheer for Dawn, but it is a horror on both sides. The look on the first disarmed man is that of rejection. Does this make him less of a man? Was his penis a weapon he used, to which Dawn is the first one with a defense designed specificly against it? The scenes are strong. Dawn is the victim in one way or the other and we sympathize for her, then she is aggressor, and we're left to debate if he truly deserved it.

Then the humor kicks in. What does a guy try to do when he is disarmed? Put it back? What does he say to the hospital doctors? Do you lash out at Dawn, being the bastard we know some to be, or do you stand in pity, the new victim?

The comedy kicks in full gear when a gynocologist is less than gentle with treating Dawn. His hand is stuck, and when he tries to pull away, he drags her. She kicks away from him, his hand and arm are pulled in an unexpected laugh at the movies tenses moments. Teeth is a good movie if for no other reason than its ability to shift gears from the tense to the aggressive to the hilarious.

Is it entertaining? Mostly. There are too many parts I felt the movie could at, that Dawn had completed her journey or that we knew the process and know what's going to happen to the next guy.

Is it for everyone? Yes. It can easily appeal to both sexes, but it limits itself with gruesome and graphic. Ironically, we never see a penis attached.

Is it memorable? Yes. For those that see it, it will stick in your mind like Carrie or May.

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