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Teeth
R1 - America - Genius Products Review written by and copyright: Jeremiah Chin (7th June 2008). |
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The Film
 “Watch out boy she’ll chew you up, Oh here she comes, She’s a maneater.” Who would have known that Hall & Oates could predict one of the best movies of 2007 with their 1982 song. Director Mitchell Lichtenstein’s “Teeth” (2007) is a well written, well directed and well acted horror movie centered around the vagina dentata myth, a woman who has teeth in her vagina. Dawn O’Keefe (Jess Weixler) is the leader of a youth abstinence group that tells teens to save sex for marriage and speaks at events for her organization to encourage others to stay sex-free. As the film progresses, Dawn’s commitment to abstinence seems to be a fear of her own body, brilliantly illustrated by Lichtenstein in a dream sequence where Dawn envisions her wedding night with fellow pro-abstinence member Tobey (Hale Appleman) while slowly moving to touch herself then is suddenly haunted by the image of an old monster movie scorpion with a mouth full of gaping teeth. Eventually the bond between Tobey and Dawn deepens, but Tobey wants to take their relationship much further than Dawn is comfortable with. When he tries to go against her will, she chews him up and spits him out. Literally. I saw more dismembered male genetalia in this movie than I ever thought I would in my life, putting this as a must see for gore-hounds in for some bloody sweet revenge. Weixler won a Special Dramatic Jury Prize for Acting when the movie premiered at Sundance and I’m blown away that she didn’t win more awards. Her performance is incredible in moving from the very conservative abstinence advocate afraid of her own sexuality to a more empowered woman who understands her sexuality. All the actors around her also do a great job, especially Dawn’s step-brother Brad (John Hensley). The great performance that Weixler delivers goes hand in hand with a clever and engaging script by Lichtenstein. He turns the vagina dentata mythology on its head by making the story more about the suppression of information and understanding of sexuality and difference rather than the typical moral lesson of vagina dentata that puts female sexuality as something to be conquered and overcome by a male hero. The script and directing really reminded me of “Donnie Darko” (2001) in the depiction of any-town suburbia and conservative social norms. Often horror movies get critiqued for their depiction of women, like Brian De Palma’s “Carrie” (1976). There are some definite similarities with "Teeth" in having the lead female protagonist that has a lack of understanding about her sexuality, even to the point of fearing it, along with some mysterious powers that punish those who wronged her. I think “Teeth” goes a little further though in bringing a full character development in Dawn who is able to become empowered by her sexuality. Lichtenstein avoids some of the more blatant objectification of the leading female role that De Palma is criticized for and, I think, builds an overall stronger script. Even the names reference feminism and vaginal imagery with the main character Dawn O’Keefe’s last name being a reference to artist Georgia O’Keeffe who is known for her use of vaginal imagery. The music and sound in the movie is incredibly well done with an intense and subtle soundtrack that sets the tone of each scene well. The sound effects used for the teeth and the dismemberment are especially cringe-worthy and add to the feeling of each scene individually. Even though I’ve mostly mentioned the gore in the movie, the humor is incredibly strong. Lichtenstein has some great comedic timing and dialogue in his writing that kept me laughing just thinking about them. Lichtenstein uses every part of the film to push the comedy and the story. Overall, “Teeth” is a great movie, with a well balanced amount of comedy, horror and gore it’s more than just a one-trick-castration-pony.
Video
“Teeth” is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and does a good job on the transfer. The dream sequences and night scenes never come off as too dark or too bright for the mood, and the movie is overall well lit and shot. There’s a bit of noticeable grain in some scenes, but it doesn’t break the movie.
Audio
The movie has some great use of sound with ambiance and well-placed sound effects, and the English Dolby Digital 5.1 sound makes the score sound great. The audio levels are all good, blaring the music with some of the key bites and keeping subtle and in the background for the great dialogue. Optional subtitles are included in both English and Spanish.
Extras
“Teeth” isn’t very packed, but it has the essentials with an audio commentary track, some deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes featurette and some trailers. The director’s audio commentary by Mitchell Lichtenstein was really disappointing. Not only because I really liked the movie, but because I wanted to hear so much more about the production and the troubles they went through in getting this film approved with the content it has. Lichtenstein is more silent than anything in the track, watches the movie more than talks about it. There are a few gems like the fact that they had to simulate a hospital setting for those scenes, since no hospital would let them film inside due to the subject matter of the film. Next up, the "Behind-The-Scenes" featurette which runs for 28 minutes and 51 seconds and does a lot of what I wish the commentary would have, talking about the mythology, the production, and talking to a lot of the actors in the movie. The audio isn’t consistent, which is a little frustrating, but the actor interpretations of their characters and hearing from some of the production designers is worth listening to. There are also 5 deleted scenes that come with optional audio commentary by director Mitchell Lichtenstein. The commentary on these isn’t really informative overall, much like the director’s track. The deleted scenes included are: - “Dawn & Tobey watch Gwen & Phil dance” runs for 50 seconds and is exactly what it says it is. - “Two Couples walk through the mall noticing advertisements” runs for 55 seconds and shows Dawn, Tobey, Gwen and Phil talking about the sexual advertisements in the mall. - “Gwen & Phil Confront Dawn” runs for 1 minute and 38 seconds. A short conversation to explain why Dawn did not go to her friends when she needed support. - “Dawn avoids Ryan at the hospital” runs for 29 seconds, Dawn nearly bumps into Ryan being brought to the hospital after their last encounter. - “Dr. Godfrey types in the hospital” runs for 15 seconds and features him trying to type after his encounter with Dawn. The theatrical trailer for “Teeth” is next which runs for 1 minute and 44 seconds. Also there’s a TV spot that runs for 31 seconds. Plus a handful of bonus trailers that run before the DVD menu and include: - “Diary of the Dead” runs for 1 minute and 56 seconds. - “w∆z” which runs for 1 minute and 52 seconds. - “Awake” runs for 2 minutes and 19 seconds. - “Storm Warning” which runs for 1 minute and 26 seconds.
Overall
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