Teeth'
Runtime: 93min 27secsTagline: Every rose has its thorns.
Written & Directed by: Mitchell Lichtenstein
Plot Outline:
High-school student Dawn (Jess Weixler) works hard at suppressing her budding sexuality by being the most active member of the local chastity group. Her task is made even more difficult by a string of male admirers and her bad-boy stepbrother's provocative behaviour at home.
However, previously a stranger to her own body, innocent Dawn makes a shocking discovery about herself. At first terrified and upset, she soon realises she has a formidable defence mechanism to ward off unwanted advances - a set of teeth where you'd least expect...
The film begins with a young Brad and Dawn O'Keefe swimming in a pool. Mr. O'Keefe yells at his son to be nice to his new step-sister. Brad takes his penis out of his swimsuit and tells Dawn to show hers. Brad shrieks in agony as Mr. and Mrs. O'Keefe rush over to see what happened. Brad's finger is bleeding and it appears to have been bitten. Dawn smiles innocently at Brad.
12 years later, all grown up Dawn is in high school, she likes a guy at school, and he likes her. However having taken a pledge to remain chaste until marriage, they date in groups, watch G-rated films, and don't kiss, even though temptation beckons. When they do cave into their temptations... well, you can do the math ;)
Overall Impressions:
I had heard of this & thought it was a terrible idea, but hey amongst the low standard of horrors these days, sure it'd fit right in. Then I saw the trailer & thought otherwise. What changed? Well first & foremost, I realised they had no intention for this to be taken seriously. It wasn't a horror, it was a dark comedy and being sold like one. So now that it had my interest piqued. Being invited to a preview, I plodded along still dubious & expecting some extremely unpleasant & cringe-worthy moments.
I came out rather pleasantly surprised. I was happy with it from the very outset. The opening scene tells you exactly where this is headed and then we move to the college life. Within this, the attraction between Dawn and the guy has been handled humorously, yet actually quite closely reflecting reality. They played a little with over-ridden clichés and this blended with the humour flawlessly.
I did hear a few people mention after the show that the acting came off as really really poor in these portions, however I have to say, it really had to be intentional. It was supposed to be funny & had they all acted as though they were emoting intensely, that wouldn't have worked.
Once we get rolling, there are the 'graphic' scenes that I expected there would be more of. The fact that there aren't many is a good thing more than bad. Firstly, because it's not something we want to to see, secondly, it actually leaves more to your own imagination, and when that starts filling the gaps, it leaves much more of an impact.
I think films like this should get more attention. I say this more from a technical perspective rather than a consumer perspective. What I'm getting at is that it's a rather simple story, simple execution, but highly effective. From the consumer standpoint they don't find themselves in any way cheated by a lack of drama.
The climax did leave me thinking, okay so this is how it ends for now. If they one day do make a sequel, they 'sold out' & have made that film that I initially dreaded this would be, but on its own, I give it credit, two thumbs up.
Worth a watch if you like dark comedy. I imagine it won't be for everyone & it's in no way a cinema must but it's a unique little flick that'll leave you with more than just a hickey. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed "Teeth". A bit "hit you over the head" with a message at times but generally, it did a fine job of walking the line between funny and truly dramatic. Overall, I enjoyed much more than I thought I would.