Excision (2012)

Directed by Richard Bates, Jr.

Starring AnnaLynne McCord and Traci Lords

Runtime 81 min. - Not Rated (nudity and gore)

3 Stars (out of 4)

"Excision" is available now on Amazon Instant and Vudu.

I thought I'd dig up something twisted to review on Halloween and "Excision" certainly qualifies. Though, I would question whether it counts as a horror film. It certainly has the aesthetics of a horror film, but as for the story, it's more of a family drama.

"Excision" follows an 18 year-old girl named Pauline (McCord). She's not a naturally ugly girl, but she has little interest in hygiene or beauty products. Her hair is nearly always unkempt and she suffers from acne. But it's what's on the inside that counts. Unfortunately, Pauline's inside is horrific. She has lucid dreams on a nightly basis that most of us would consider nightmares. In one dream she has nipples lining her belly that naked strangers line up to feed on. She also delivers her own severed head via caesarian, it's still moving. Many of her other dreams are necrophilic in nature. Her dreams are always preceded by her bedtime prayers, each one of which made me laugh. "I haven't read your book all the way through. I can't devote that kind of time to a piece of literature that's received such mixed reviews." "I'm going to have premarital sex. I know it's a sin, but it's my understanding that if I ask for forgiveness you have to give it to me. So I will proceed as planned."

Congratulations! It's a severed head!

Pauline's mother Phyllis (Lords) is an authoritarian and the two are constantly at odds. Pauline has no respect for the authority of God so what chance does her mother have? She sends her to a catholic minister twice a week because an actual psychiatrist would be too expensive. The priest, ironically played by John Waters, is far out of his depth.

Like every girl her age, Pauline is at the mercy of her hormones. She's acutely aware of this fact and mentions it in her prayers as a justification for premarital sex. Not the kind to flirt, Pauline offers her virginity to a guy who is rumored to have a small penis so that the pain is minimal. She makes this offer while he's having a conversation with his friends. He acts disgusted but calls her when no one is around. What he doesn't know is that all of her fantasies contain blood and she's timed this rendezvous with her period. She fantasizes about choking him in a pile of bloody sheets while they do the deed. It seems to go pretty well until she convinces him to perform oral sex and he's left with a crimson surprise.

Pauline is cold and systematic in her consideration of life. Her only weak spot is her sister. Grace (Ariel Winter) is the beautiful, well-behaved daughter of the two, but they still have a sororal bond. Grace is free of all of Pauline's psychological imperfections but is plagued by Cystic Fibrosis. Grace uses a special pressurized vest and breathing machine to help dislodge the excess mucus from her lungs. As the film progresses, so does the disease. Grace ends up on a lung transplant list. Pauline sympathizes with her and vows to do whatever she can to cure Grace. What could she possibly do to cure Grace? That's a scene I'm not willing to spoil.

I've described a few gory scenes, but Pauline actually has even more disturbing dreams that I've purposefully not mentioned. Despite all that, I still maintain that the film isn't horror. There's only one murder in the whole film and the rest of the violence is imagined by a twisted lead character. You need a lot of visceral imagery if you're going to do a character study about a girl like this correctly. These filmmakers did it correctly, and expertly. "Excision" is a tragically funny and disgusting gem that should attract a cult following.