Oral Fixation

First, a note of caution: there's a very early, unfinished rough cut of the film circulating on the internet, released by someone who has since been dealt with legally and otherwise. Sadly, the rough cut has been downloaded and reviewed a handful of times, and the reviews are justifiably poor, considering what the downloaders were presented with. Such is life in the age of the internet.

As for the final version of ORAL FIXATION, it's a dark, almost fantastical tale which was inspired by a true story that took place on Long Island, NY, in the 1980s. The real story centered on a dentist who felt compelled to uproot, pull his child from school, move towns and switch his home telephone number because a female patient of his had become obsessed with him for reasons I will not reveal here.

What you will see in this film, although bizarre, is not that far from the truth. And in light of recent cases of obsession, such as that of the female astronaut who drove 900 miles non-stop wearing an adult diaper to allegedly murder a romantic rival, the events portrayed in ORAL FIXATION my seem even less out-of-the-ordinary.

Budget constraints limited our ability to fully explore the scope of the story, but what we were able to deliver is, in our opinion, a fast-moving, engaging genre pic that sheds light on a particularly dark side of human nature.

I wish the cast and crew of Oral Fixation well, but not the film that they created. It's a bargain-basement psycho-horror flick, that I should have known going in and did to an extent. But I also had some hope that it being an independent movie that it might try a little harder under the radar, and having won a few awards at minor festivals. It's not even so much a horror movie, if one may get that impression from the cover (my first thought was 'ah, The Dentist with a girl, I like that concept).

It's mostly just a stale retread of psycho-stalker flicks like Fatal Attraction, all the way down to a similar abduction of a little kid with a very nasty side-effect. Some of the actors do their best with it, but it's not much to work with to start and so it's mostly one-note; Emily Parker, who may keep some men glued due to some large natural breasts (sorry, I don't mean to sound like a pig, but they stick out in a story that give her nothing to work with an actual actor), is also one-note as a killer. At least she gets some chance to go over the top with bug- eyes and a big goofy psycho-smile. Other actors like Kerry Aissa and Aidan Sullivan eventually turn up with the same exasperated expressions on their faces, scene to scene.

And the plot isn't much of a help, going through a few hackneyed twists surrounding the 'did he or didn't he' form of betrayal between the dentist, his wife and the crazy girl who loves to get her teeth cleaned without anesthesia. Even the one aspect, her loony pain-in-pleasure fetish-motif drilled in by a-hole father, doesn't give Oral Fixation or the character of Rachel Marks any added interest. And even the other aspect of the horror element I had hoped for in a cringe-worthy manner- of the very creepy approach to shoot torture via teeth drilling and knocking out ala The Dentist and The Dentist 2- is lacking. And that final scene of the movie, along with other scenes, had me howling laughing.

Not many of the decisions or things characters do make much sense, the film opens with little good context for us, and the fight scenes are given the kind of touch that would make film school teachers' heads spin ala The Exorcist (seriously, saying EACH LINE as you HIT your TARGET with a CLUB is so TIRED). Oh, and as another Minor pet peeve, useless color tinting in the early scenes of the movie for almost no reason except to establish the POV from Rachel Marks... which is DROPPED after this anyway. Pretty sad.

Satire is so hard to do. If you do it too overtly, people will think it's silly. If you do it too subtly, people won't get the joke. This is one of those satires that was done so subtly that I'm not even sure it was a satire. That's why I'm divided on whether or not I like this movie.

If you approach it as a straightforward thriller, you'll probably be disappointed. It (deliberately?) resorts to a lot of old thriller clichés, unbelievable plot elements, and a crazy outta-left-field ending that may incite you to hurl your popcorn at the screen. I'm guessing that's why it has a relatively low rating on IMDb. Lotta popcorn hurlers.

But if you approach it as a satire that doesn't take itself too seriously, I think you'll really enjoy it. The low budget production (by Hollywood standards) will only add to your enjoyment, and the far-fetched plot elements will satisfy your craving for B-movie fodder.

I'm pretty sure the satire was intentional. I mean, one look at the DVD cover (a cute girl in a dentist's chair smiling with a mouthful of blood) should give you an indication that this movie doesn't take itself seriously. I think...

To me, that is the charm & originality of this film. The audience is never quite sure what to make of it. Are we watching a thriller, or are we watching a carefully crafted mockery of a thriller? Honestly I'll probably have to watch it again with the director's commentary before I can be sure. One way or another, this movie is very memorable!

You know....friends and family of the production team do a movie no favours by unrealistically raising expectations about it in reviews and suchlike. Far better give an honest statement of its strengths and weaknesses. I mean this movie was an OK effort...but then I am very tolerant of formulaic and unimaginative horror movies. Too much time on my hands. But reading the comments so far, I was naive enough to expect something special....which this movie, sadly, wasn't. Still thanks for entertaining me for an hour or so. Kinda. Now to fill up the required ten lines for an IMDb review. To discuss the plot maybe. Pointless really. Nothing too special there. Still. Bourgouis dentist falls prey to unrealistic psychotic woman. She pulls out some teeth. Not very exciting from thereon.

As a fan of horror and B movies, I wasn't expecting much. That being said, this movie is not that bad. The acting is decent (not over the top) The story has a realistic feel to it because it involves "stalking and obsessive behavior". Stuff like this really happens which in my opinion is a lot more disturbing than a "slasher/monster movie". It has that "B" look and feel to it, but it gets the job done. The lead actress plays a great psycho and her self-mutilation techniques were disturbing. I hate to typecast, but I can see more parts like this for her in the future. Yes, there are parts that will make you roll your eyes, but because they deal with a realistic type of issue I found it entertaining. If you're a fan of low budget B's, its worth a rental.