Ain't It Cool Thinks American Mary is Cool

"If one has never seen recreational body modification in its various forms, I can understand why some folks would be seriously ooked out by AMERICAN MARY, the latest in what seems to be a new wave of body horror films which may have been restarted with HUMAN CENTIPEDE, but has really taken shape with this past year’s VICTIM, THE SKIN I LIVE IN, EXCISION, ERRORS OF THE HUMAN BODY and ANTIVIRAL, to name a few. I don’t mean to be jaded, but while I don’t have any body mods myself (besides tattoos), I have seen my fair share in my time. So on that initial shock level, I wasn’t taken aback as much as I imagine one unfamiliar with the subculture would be.

That said, AMERICAN MARY is one hell of a movie. It’s well acted by GINGER SNAPS’ Katharine Isabelle and newcomer Antonio Cupo. Both actors do well with their characters, exhibiting an attraction, yet an inability to show that toward one another because of the situation they have found themselves in. The story follows Mary (Isabelle), a down and out med student in need of a quick buck answering an ad as a stripper in a gentleman’s club. While there, Mary’s skills as a future surgeon are called upon when she is offered $5,000.00 to illegally operate on an associate of the bar with his eye gouged out. Mary takes the offer and finds herself spiraling down the rabbit hole into dark subcultures and deviant body modification for an immense amount of profit which would shut those student loan callers the hell up.

The way this film is put together is eloquent and delicate, yet occasionally stone cold. Even the opening scene, as Mary practices her operating skills on a dead plucked turkey, the camera zooms in to show this delicate operation with thin instruments making precise cuts. That’s how this film is throughout. AMERICAN MARY is slow to develop and shows a patient hand storytelling-wise, but I wasn’t bored a tick as we see Mary get further and further entrenched in this shadowy world. The directors, Sylvia & Jen Soska, are twins who also appear in the film as…what else…twisted twins with a unique request for Mary’s operating skills. The story keeps things pretty distant, though, only showing us slight peeks as to what’s going on inside Mary’s brainpan with only a few scenes of her reacting to these intense situations like vomiting and taking a shower in her clothes, both clichés but appropriate given the extreme circumstanes."

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE HERE!

-Sylv

Doc Karen Talks to the Twisted Twins Post American Mary Screening at Fright Fest

Fucking wicked interview with Jen and me with Doc Karen Oughton at Film4 FrightFest after our American Mary screening where we talk body mod, appearances, amazing designs by Enigma Arcana, and our thoughts on how women are depicted in horror.

                

"Jen and Sylvia Soska, collectively known as the Twisted Twins, discuss their film AMERICAN MARY with Dr Karen Oughton at a special screening in London at Film4 FrightFest 2012."

 -Sylv

There She Is, Miss America - The Remarkable Reviews

"AMERICAN MARY is the most emotionally accurate, bravest, best-made horror film I have ever seen, particularly given the Twisted Twins' current position within the industry. It is sexy, revolting, empowering and overwhelming all at once without ever feeling exploitative. It is the Twisted Twins’ story and they are asking you come to them on mutual terms. Watch Mary, enjoy her and face your own desires." - Dr. Karen Oughton, Ain't It Cool News (full review)

"If Rob Zombie is ever looking to cast the roles of Siamese twins Daisy and Violet Hilton in a remake of Freaks, he couldn’t do better than Vancouver’s own identical-twin directing duo, Jen and Sylvia Soska. Years spent cutting their teeth on the local Vancouver film-competition circuit combined with the moderate success of the 2009 cult grindhouse flick Dead Hooker in a Trunk have finally paid off, as the Soska sisters are now on the brink of something much bigger. Their latest feature, American Mary, produced by this town’s IndustryWorks Pictures, has been picked up by Universal Pictures International for distribution in the U.K. and Germany." - Rachel Fox, The Georgia Straight (full review)

"The screening got an overwhelmingly positive reaction from the almost capacity-filled cinema (an unusual thing for the morning slot). The directors were there to introduce the film and proved to be the most energetic, lovable and bat-shit insane people to ever grace the stage at the Empire. The twin sisters responsible for DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK (their first feature) were dressed in matching identical fetish outfits which mirrored the film's themes and proved to be irrepressible and honest story-tellers as they explained the genesis and production of American Mary." - Matt Nefarious, Nefarious Films (full review)

"Jen and Sylvia Soska – the directors of Dead Hooker in a Trunk – return with what may have been the most talked-about film at the festival. Ginger Snaps star Katherine Isabelle plays Mary Mason, a medical student who enters the shady underground world of body modification in search of a quick buck, and soon finds it taking a terrible toll on her own psyche. Brutal, gripping and genuinely horrifying, American Mary is the kind of film that FrightFest was created for, and should be sought out at the earliest opportunity." - Chris Tilly, IGN (full review)

"Ginger Snaps star Katherine Isabelle, gives the movie some real power. Her transformation of downtrodden but confident student, to awesome and deadly woman is a journey that many actresses would have difficulty pulling off. Isabelle not only delivers the role, she makes the audience love her from very early on. You relate in some way to the character, and want only the best for her, as she moves from the hero to the villain role, you still support her." - Spencer Hawkin, Views from the Edge (full review)

"Mary is a medical student hard up on cash. Body modification is a tempting avenue for her to put her surgical skills up to lucrative use. Wicked black comedy from the adorable Soska sisters and marks an impressive step up from their fun Dead Hooker in a Trunk. Katharine Isabelle is iconic in the titular role. She let me speak to her in the pub. Cool lady." - Jim Drew, Letterboxd (full review)

"Picking my top film is a tough decision, but it's just gotta be American Mary, from the Twisted Twins – better known as Jen and Sylvia Soska. It's an astounding piece of work from the makers of the indie hit Dead Hooker in a Trunk from a couple of years ago. Mary is such an astonishing leap forward in every way, that I cannot wait to see what they do next. Jen and Sylvia are also two of the nicest, sweetest and huggiest people I've ever met, and easily my favourite guests of the weekend (sorry, Ross)." - Stuart O'Connor, Screenjabber (full review)

"American Mary is never as much fun as this in its second half, as the tone turns more downcast and literally horrifying, but the shift is steadily conducted and absolutely in the spirit of what preceded it. The transformation of Mary from reluctant surgeon to willing torturer is firmly justified by a disturbing mid-film scene upon which everything else can be said to rest. Needless to say, the Soska Sisters don’t wimp out when it comes to the crunch, and the film doesn’t end how one might have anticipated, a testament to their unyielding, daring vision." - Shaun Munro, What Culture (full review)

"Katharine Isabelle, who briefly took the trip from obscurity to genre superstar in the acclaimed but still criminally underrated ‘Ginger Snaps’ (2000) and, although she’s appeared in a lot of films and TV shows since then has never re-attained that status, deserves a place in the pantheon of horror greats purely on the strength of this performance alone. I know that sounds gushy but wait until you see the film. Mary is one of the most perfect of monsters because we can appreciate how she was created and what she must do to survive. It’s absolutely perfect that ‘Universal’ – original caretakers of Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman – are the studio distributing this film. 

I also want to briefly mention Burlesque dancer Tristan Risk’s scene stealing performance as Beatress. Beatress is a terrific character, a touchingly distorted homage to Betty Boop whose scenes with Mary crackle with truth, humour and vulnerability. Beatress is so endearingly three dimensional she could easily carry a film on her own. Most movies are lucky to have one stand-out character. ‘American Mary’ has the double whammy of Mary and Beatress, two completely original and multi-textured characters who truly confirm the Soska sisters’ film making genius." - Ian White, Movie Ramblings (full review)

-Sylv