American Mary (2013)

Running Time: 102 minutes

Release Date: Aug. 27, 2012 (London FrightFest Film Fest) & May 31, 2013 (US limited theatrical)

Review by: Stacey

I saw American Mary some time last year when it first came out on Netflix and being a film that was highly anticipated in the horror community, I thought I'd give it a shot.  What did I think?  Well, I didn't like it the first time I viewed it.  Maybe I didn't pay enough attention, maybe I didn't get it, hell, maybe I went to take a piss and missed a pivotal scene.  All I know is I didn't see what everyone was losing their shit about.  Okay, I think I know why and it comes in the form of fringe-haired, tall, brooding and very boob-y Katherine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps).  For that I can't blame y'all, but c'mon now.  Fast forward to today and I felt like the now-cult classic venture by the Soska Twins (Dead Hooker In A Trunk), who seem to have taken the genre by storm, deserved another watch to see if maybe my opinions had changed.

 

 

American Mary follows Mary Mason, broke ass med school student who spends her time suturing up raw chickens in her slinkiest negligee and getting uncomfortably cussed out by one of her professors.  Desperate, she follows up on an ad for sex work in a club and ends up performing an impromptu, back alley surgery for a hefty sum.  She suffers a traumatic event, drops out of med school and after performing a few "on the downlow" cosmetic surgeries ends up becoming something of a celebrity in the body modification world.

The movie was like half-fucked up medical institution and half-peek into the extreme body mod world with rape revenge thrown in for good measure.  I'm not sure if the Soska twins realized how common extreme body mods are, especially in the horror community.  I mean, they may not all be hacking off their limbs and sewing up their genitals but it takes a fuckin' lottttt more than that to shock us, ladies! Not to mention Isabelle basically acted the whole movie in platform heels, lace panties and a leather apron.  There was a whole hell of a lot of unnecessary focus on her sexuality and I'm not quite sure why.

At some point the film turned into a weird constant dream-like sequence by her sleazy former boss who has the hots for Mary but never tells her.  The film gave the hint (it was more than a hint) that Mary cared about him as well but it's just never even mentioned.  It all seemed a tad pointless and dragged out, especially for nothing to happen.  There was mild satisfaction in her avenging the trauma that she suffered but really, the storyline was so disjointed that it was hard to really care.  As American Mary continued, we could see the story building up to not much more other than random scenes of surgeries as she builds up her "portfolio" and takes on this kind of mob princess persona as she continues to sulk a lot and stare off into the distance.  One of the more radical surgeries took place on Soska twins themselves as they requested to have their left arms swapped.  It lent more "edge" to the film than story.

 American Mary felt like it was made simply to shock the audience.  Especially considering the very quick and dissatisfying ending that was given.  With a promising start, it just fell flat in the last half and got lost along the way.  Maybe there was actually something deeper to get out of the movie and maybe I have a heart made of stone (I do), but I still didn't see the appeal even the second time around.  

If you're shocked easily, American Mary and its focus on body horror might be right up your alley.  And hey, you're in luck, it's on Netflix!  But if you decide to cut off your junk after viewing, don't blame me!

1/5 hacked off dicks and sliced off cooters

 

Check out the trailer here!