by Joshua Skye:
Katherine Isabelle, of “Ginger Snaps” fame, plays Mary, a financially struggling med student who makes the tough decision to supplement her income by seeking seedy employment in the sex industry. During the initial interview at a particularly sordid strip club, she is suddenly asked to utilize her surgical skills instead of her body, a wonderful twist on what could have otherwise been an archetypal exploitative cliché. “American Mary” isn’t going to be the usual horror film.
After demonstrating her proficiency in a filthy basement, Mary is sought out by a desperate, but bubbly cartoonish cosmetic surgery addict in an invitation down the rabbit hole that can only be described as David Lynchian in nature. What might have been just utterly absurd, is masterfully grotesque and profoundly enthralling. We’re sufficiently creeped out by the freakishly cheerful Betty Boop fetishist, but we want more. If that alone isn’t enough to pique your morbid curiosity, let me give you a few more tantalizing morsels to whet your appetite.
Meet the plastic-doll-wannabe. Marvel at the cult of rapist surgeons. Be repulsed by the bloodthirsty twins who, shall we say, want to be even closer. And gaze in wide wonder at the body modification menu that has a particular emphasis on genital alterations. “American Mary” is the revenge thriller gone to hell, a descent into an underground world of twisted self-expression that would make Dee Snider’s Captain Howdy squirm in his sling.
This is a stylish, grizzly, and elegant horror film with an astounding lead performance by Katherine Isabelle. It’s every bit as aberrant as the “Saw” films without resorting to over-the-top bloody theatrics, or becoming a parody of itself. Beyond a few floundering scenes toward the end, “American Mary” is a brilliantly twisted film.
DarkMedia contributor Joshua Skye’s short stories have appeared in anthologies from STARbooks Press, Knightwatch Press, Sirens Call Publications, Rainstorm Press, JMS Books and periodicals such as Blood and Lullabies. He is the author of “The Singing Wind,” “Bareback: A Werewolf’s Tale,” “Midnight Rainbows,” the forthcoming “The Grigori,” and “The Angels of Autumn.” You can find him on his website.
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