In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Friday 25 January 2013

AMERICAN MARY [2012]

The Soska Sisters channel their inner Cronenberg for the bizarre, sadistic and oddly hilarious body modification horror film American Mary.
Ginger Snaps' Katharine Isabelle turns in an incredibly impressive performance that completely transforms by the end of the film.  Only a few short years after Dead Hooker In A Trunk it's amazing to see how much The Soska Sisters have matured and advanced as filmmakers.  The story unfolds at a smooth pace, the camerawork is quite nice and the lighting breathes life into the black & red color palate.  This twisted little film isn't for everybody but will certainly find a well-deserved dedicated audience.

4 living cartoons out of 5

4 comments:

Borderline said...

I have to say I was disappointed by this one.

Isabelle's performance was bland and there wasn't enough going on in the story to keep my interest. The body mod stuff was interesting but the events towards the end were too little too late. 2.5 director cameos out of 5.

budarc said...

I just spent all day watching Hellevator and I'm officially in love with the Soska twins. Their evilness is so deliciously sexy.

I've seen all their films but this is the only one I really liked. I see their next film due out is a remake of Cronenberg's Rabid.

cuckoo said...

I haven't seen Hellevator yet.
It just popped up on Netflix last week so I'll be checking it out soon.

I haven't seen Vendetta yet. I don't really want to either. Something about it doesn't appeal to me.

American Mary is the only one I really like too. It's fantastic.
They're ABC's of Death segment is pretty great too.

budarc said...

Hellevator is the coolest game show I've ever seen. The second season started recently, hopefully it'll be an annual Halloween tradition for years to come.

Vendetta is one of those standard WWE cheap action flicks. Instantly forgettable. The generic cover is probably what doesn't appeal to you (Dean Cain isn't much of a draw these days either).

I forgot which ABCs of Death segment they did, but I remember enjoying that anthology as a whole. I wish they would focus on more original content; it seems like they have a unique perspective on horror.