American Mary (2012)

title: American Mary
written and directed by: Jen and Sylvia Soska
photography by: Brian Pearson
music by: Peter Allen
edited by: Bruce MacKinnon
cast: Katharine Isabelle, Antonio Cupo, Tristan Risk
imdb

The year 2012 brought us two movies with a similar plot: the more or less bloody revenge of a young girl after being raped. These movies were Girls Against Boys and American Mary. But although having a common starting point, they have quite a diverging devolopment. American Mary is darker and really more disturbing. Because American Mary moves then into the dark world of body modification (and we're not talking exactly about tattoos and piercings here).

Takashi Miike's Audition would be the closest movie (we can recall) to American Mary, because they both develope a kind of horror based on extreme behaviours, or better, an horror derived from extreme behaviours, and both also playing with the cute girl doing unthinkable things.

It is interesting to point out that American Mary has been directed by Jen and Sylvia Soska (aka The Soska Sisters), proving that "cinema made by women" doesn't have to walk the paths of comedy or drama, that it can explore the darkest paths.

As we said, the word that best describes American Mary is disturbing; while being less gory than Saw it is quite more unsettling because the horrors that we see are sometimes voluntary sometimes performed by a former nice and promising young medicine student. This feeling is enhanced by the movie's art design, as well, as the cold-colored photography.

The Soska Sisters can be proud of one thing: their movie won't leave anybody indifferent, which, in our days,  can be considered is enough reason to watch it, despite the screeplay may be labeled of effectist. Furthermore their movie is perfectly shot, and we must say that, it may be not pleasent, but it is enternataining.