Pauline (AnnaLynne McCord) is a quite typical teenager - not. She's an outsider, who has no friends, but pimples, herpes, and oily hair. In her imagination she has blood splattered sex , covered in blood like Countess Bathory or does it with headless corpses. Actually Pauline is quite a freak. The grades in school are fine. In other ways she doesn't get along. Whether parents (Traci Lords), her teacher (Malcolm McDowell), classmates or the priest (John Waters), all think Pauline is sick and bizarre. In addition her destiny is overshadowed by the one of her little sister, who has a serious lung disease. But the gifted wallflower Pauline already cherishes plans ...
EXCISION is an exhilarating roller-coaster ride through the ups and downs of youth, consisting of disorientation, feelings of inferiority, sex and murder fantasies. Actress AnnaLynne McCord shows courage and her ugly face. Her consistently outstanding performance carries the film. She sniffs used tampons, pukes on a classmate during class and lets her boyfriend satisfy herself orally, although she has her period, resulting a bloody lipstick and disgusted displeasure. German writer Charlotte Roche's "Wetlands" greets violently. The visually dreams, bathed in neon colors and blood, are another highlight of the film. Although these are only short sequences, they have a perverse degree, allowing the comparison with films like MARTYRS or HUMAN CENTIPEDE. In these dreams Pauline breaks her "ugly duckling image". In them she is a splatter queen full of beauty ideals.
The plot of the film is quite weak. It's about several themes like sexual curiosity, confusion, hormone surges, low self esteem, lack of confidence, problems with trying to cope with society – ergo: relatively "normal" teenage problems. Indeed they are shown in an extreme way, but relatively normal problems. The story jumps from one topic to another. First, Pauline wants to get rid of her hated virginity. Then she takes part at a dance class she hates. Then there's the problem with her sister with the lung disease. One central theme is not given. Only main character Pauline, who is quite nice to watch.
A genre friend freaks out, when he takes a look at the cast list, containing the heroes and flagships of former Mondo-, Porn-, Sex- and Sleaze-Cinema. Ex-Pornstar Traci Lords plays the conservative middle-class mother and housewife, Malcolm McDowell the strict teacher and John Waters, who let Trashqueen Divine eat dog poo, plays a prude priest. The appearance of these stars is like a gigantic broad hint and makes EXCISION to a kind of homage to the experimental sleaze movies of the 70s.
EXCISION is hard splatter, a breaking with morality and criticism of the small town life, and a story of minor matters. The images are more powerful than the plot. The film is a play with taboos, sometimes crude, mostly brilliant. As a fan of movies offside the mainstream you will have to love this to hit in the face of decency.
Resume: American BEAUTY goes MARTYRS – puberty as a splatter film.
EXCISION is an exhilarating roller-coaster ride through the ups and downs of youth, consisting of disorientation, feelings of inferiority, sex and murder fantasies. Actress AnnaLynne McCord shows courage and her ugly face. Her consistently outstanding performance carries the film. She sniffs used tampons, pukes on a classmate during class and lets her boyfriend satisfy herself orally, although she has her period, resulting a bloody lipstick and disgusted displeasure. German writer Charlotte Roche's "Wetlands" greets violently. The visually dreams, bathed in neon colors and blood, are another highlight of the film. Although these are only short sequences, they have a perverse degree, allowing the comparison with films like MARTYRS or HUMAN CENTIPEDE. In these dreams Pauline breaks her "ugly duckling image". In them she is a splatter queen full of beauty ideals.
The plot of the film is quite weak. It's about several themes like sexual curiosity, confusion, hormone surges, low self esteem, lack of confidence, problems with trying to cope with society – ergo: relatively "normal" teenage problems. Indeed they are shown in an extreme way, but relatively normal problems. The story jumps from one topic to another. First, Pauline wants to get rid of her hated virginity. Then she takes part at a dance class she hates. Then there's the problem with her sister with the lung disease. One central theme is not given. Only main character Pauline, who is quite nice to watch.
A genre friend freaks out, when he takes a look at the cast list, containing the heroes and flagships of former Mondo-, Porn-, Sex- and Sleaze-Cinema. Ex-Pornstar Traci Lords plays the conservative middle-class mother and housewife, Malcolm McDowell the strict teacher and John Waters, who let Trashqueen Divine eat dog poo, plays a prude priest. The appearance of these stars is like a gigantic broad hint and makes EXCISION to a kind of homage to the experimental sleaze movies of the 70s.
EXCISION is hard splatter, a breaking with morality and criticism of the small town life, and a story of minor matters. The images are more powerful than the plot. The film is a play with taboos, sometimes crude, mostly brilliant. As a fan of movies offside the mainstream you will have to love this to hit in the face of decency.
Resume: American BEAUTY goes MARTYRS – puberty as a splatter film.