Unrated | 81 Min. | Horror, Comedy, Drama
Future Remake Title: I Just Want Mom to Love Me
In a nutshell: “Can you contract an STD by having sex with a dead person?” No stranger to the inappropriate, Pauline manages to befuddle even her second period sex ed. teacher. Then again, normalcy is light years from Pauline’s universe. Drifting through life with zero friends and a family with whom she fails to connect, she splits her “me time” between prayers to God and dreams mixing blood, sex and body parts. As she begins to discover her own sexuality, her private thoughts start leaking into reality… and that’s where the fun really begins.
Cobra’s Bite: AnnaLynne McCord has flown under the radar with roles often accentuating her beauty. Her credits are highlighted by a darkly delicious turn as doc stalker Eden, in the FX sitcom Nip/Tuck. I hear she also makes a fairly believable elitist in the newer 90210, but I’ll take a fan’s word for it. Stealing a cue from Charlize Theron’s Monster, McCord bravely allows a makeup crew to work their magic in reverse. Bad skin, jutting jaw and ratty hair aside (don’t let the insert above fool you), McCord displays impressive range transforming into the eccentric. Sliding into a seemingly uncomfortable skin, she nails Pauline’s nervous ticks and wary mannerisms.
Although off-putting to nearly everyone she meets, Pauline’s tactless demeanor drives the film’s situational humor. However, Excision’s most incendiary moments spring from Pauline’s sleep. Executing her dream sequences must have been a cinematographer/production designer’s wet dream. Over-stylized, over-saturated and (over)shocking, the more sensitive viewers may smash the remote control’s stop button on Pauline’s journey prematurely. However, the dreams are key motifs that ultimately construct her thought processes. These visuals may reveal a diagnosis of absolute lunacy, but they also provide the film’s subtext of unrealistic beauty expectations.
At its core, Excision has surprising heart. As Pauline’s overbearing mother, Traci Lords may have finally shaken the former adult film star label. The complex struggle between mother and teen-angst daughter comes to an emotional head during the film’s explosive climax. Familial dysfunction seems to be a trending theme in American horror lately, most recently explored in Lucky McKee’s The Woman (2012). The film also borrows a bit from McKee’s earlier classic May (2006), an excellent character study of another woman misunderstood. Excision does stand alone in one regard: The grotesque has never been this erotic (or as wacky).
The Verdict:
Excision is available on DVD and Blu-Ray October 16th, 2012.
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