Irish Film Institute -TEETH

TEETH

Director: MITCHELL LICHTENSTEIN

U.S.A • 2007 • COLOUR • DOLBY DIGITAL STEREO • 88 MIN


DEBUT FEATURE FROM DIRECTOR MITCHELL LICHTENSTEIN (SON OF LEGENDARY POP ARTIST ROY) IS A THOROUGHLY ENJOYABLE AND SHARPLY INTELLIGENT BLEND OF SOCIAL SATIRE, BLACK HUMOUR, AND GOOD OLD-FASHIONED GORE.
In the midst of a chaotic home life which includes an ill mother and predatory step-brother, dedicated virgin Dawn (Jess Weixler, in a remarkable performance which won her a Special Jury Prize at Sundance) is a motivational speaker for her high school abstinence group. Although firmly committed to her beliefs, Dawn’s resolve is tested by the arrival of newcomer Tobey (Hale Appleman). As the two grow closer, Tobey proves unable to restrain himself, and Dawn is forced to defend herself in a way she never knew possible. At first terrified by this anatomical anomaly, Dawn soon comes to realise the power it gives her over those who would take advantage of her, and this development informs her emergent sexuality as she sheds her previous naivety. Castration fear has been woven into horror films before, particularly the Alien series, but Lichtenstein has instead drawn comparisons between his film and Brian De Palma’s Carrie, another work dealing with newfound powers being unleashed as a result of the conflict between repression and sexual awakening. His primary concern is with ignorance perpetuated in the name of morality. ‘I don’t have any problem with abstinence,’ Lichtenstein has said, ‘it’s the withholding of knowledge.’ In a neat reversal, with Teeth he has created one of those rare horror films to which women may end up dragging their reluctant boyfriends.—Kevin Coyne.


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