On DVD: Teeth

Directed By Mitchell Lichtenstein

Starring Jess Weixler

Teeth is one of those little films that could.  When it started hitting festivals and small theatrical screenings the buzz was really exciting.  Being a horror fanatic I was extremely excited to get my hands on it.  IN the case of Teeth the hype has built the film up to be something it's totally not, but that's not a bad thing.

The Movie

Based on the hype I was expecting a disturbing horror film but what I ended up getting is a surrealist dark comedy with feminist themes.  This film is more akin to Heathers than to Jaws. In the film Dawn discovers that there's something extremely wrong with her and her reaction is to become extremely conservative, repressed even, and becoming a leader in The Promise, a teen abstinence group that comes off more like a cult than anything else. She apparently has a mutation in her genitalia, so being abstinent works to her advantage.

Along with her little problem Dawn also has a miserable home life with a very sick mother and a twisted drug using step brother to deal with. Things just get worse for Dawn at school where she is constantly made fun of.  Dawn seems almost completely oblivious though keeping a positive attitude though it all, that is until she meets Tobey, a member of The Promise she starts to have feelings for.

As she gets closer and closer to Tobey she is happier with this relationship but the rest of her life begins going downhill.  At one point when the two of them get close to having sex she tries to stop and Tobey forces himself on her.  That's when the reality of Dawn's mutation is revealed in gory and funny sequence.

Imagine I Spit on Your Grave crossed with the aforementioned Heathers.  You might think this movie to be based on a gimmick but it's actually quite successful outside the gimmick on multiple levels.  Right away it's just really funny. There area a number of scenes not even tied to the gimmick that are really amusing and some of the gimmick scenes are hilarious.  The thematic elements in the film are fantastically executed too.  There's the classic, bad guy gets killed thing that's common in these kinds of movie but on top of that there are elements of the journey of a young girl to womanhood and the whole film is a play on masculine fear of failure in regard to the mysteries of women.  This isn't more apparent than in a scene in class where the male genitalia is looked at and discussed but when the class flips to the page discussing the female genitalia there's a big sticker covering the picture.

The story of this film is akin to not only the previously mentioned films but also something from classic Greek mythology. Teeth is funny, gory, and it features a near perfectly delivered message.  Another thing I loved is the not so subtle hints what may have caused the mutation to start with that run throughout the film.  These hints are never discussed they're just presented visually and even these visuals get amusing after a while.  This film will stand multiple viewings because it isn't gimmick dependent like The Sixth Sense.  The themes and message will carry it into future views.  On top of that the cast is all great with major points going to the star Jess Weixler as Dawn.

9/10

The Video

The anamorphic widescreen presentation is inconsistent at best.  Often there are some nice sharp scenes featuring good detail and vivid colors then other scenes are coated in grain. The whole affair feels like a middle of the road TV transfer which for a low budget film isn't bad at all.

6/10

The Audio

The Dolby 5.1 presentation, like the video, is inconsistent, at least the levels are anyway.  You may find yourself riding the volume control in a few places.  Also all of the audio is buried in the center channel with no use at all of the surround stage.  This is a listenable presentation but that's as far as it goes.

5/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features

The single disc release comes packaged in a standard amaray case with artwork that doesn't quite mirror the humor of the film itself.  It's not bad it just not innovative.

First up for bonus features is a full length audio commentary from the director.  He's not excessively talkative here though.  He does share some good stories but there are too many long stretches where he says nothing and lets the film run.

There's a behind the scenes featurette that runs just under 30 minutes that features interviews with most of the cast and crew.  This brief documentary is a good watch with most of the cast sharing their thoughts and experiences regarding the film and even the special effects supervisor discussing the creation of several prosthetics for the film.  Some of the cast do a bit too much of the describing what their characters do in the film sort of thing though.

There's a handful of deleted scenes that are also a good watch.  The movie wouldn't have been changed much had the scenes been left in but they do offer some additional laughs.  Finally there are two trailers for the film.

6.5/10

Overall (Not an Average) 8/10

The Review

The Series 9/10

The Video 6/10

The Audio 5/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 6.5/10

Overall (Not an Average) 8/10

-Stephen Lackey