The “Twisted Twins” Jen and Sylvia Soska follow up their indie horror hit Dead Hooker in a Trunk with a stylish and original entry in the body horror genre with American Mary. The story follows medical student, Mary Mason, as she becomes increasingly broke and disenchanted with the surgical world she once admired. The allure of easy money sends Mary into the world of underground surgeries which ends up leaving more marks on her than her so called ‘freakish’ clientele.
Mary Mason is a character you immediately fall for from the moment she hits the frame as her character is played by the amazingly talented and gorgeous Katharine Isabelle. Easily one of the film’s major highlights is Isabelle with her charmingly creepy performance as an underground surgeon who has a wicked taste for revenge and cutting people up. She plays the role in a brutally cold manor that gets darker with each passing moment of the film. It was an absolute blast to see her character transform with each cut of the knife. Mary is beautiful on the outside with a disturbing taste for blood on the inside making her character one you would not want to be on the wrong side of.
American Mary is a lot of fun as it offers a uniquely twisted story with a dash of black comedy. It’s a strong reminder as to how powerful an independent film can be and why they are often some of the best horror films out there. The Soska twins made a big film with a shoe-string budget and the result is bloody good time. Really the only issue I had with the film is its ending. It all comes crashing down so suddenly that it feels somewhat rushed and out of place with the rest of the film. It’s a minor set back in what is an extremely entertaining film led by the beautiful Katharine Isabelle.
It is truly a breath of fresh air as it offers a dark and original idea in a genre that has lost its touch over the years. If you’re looking for an entertaining horror film with a fantastic performance from its leading lady then you’ll surely find a lot to love about American Mary. I have no doubt that we’ll be seeing great things from the Soska twins in the very near future as American Mary will likely just a stepping stone for much bigger and bloodier things.
Love independent horror films, going to check this out for sure but it sounds pretty gross.
I hope you like it! It’s actually pretty tame considering some of the procedures she does, they don’t actually show as much as you’d think and the film is better for it. Leaves a lot up to the imagination!
I really want to see this! I’m glad you said they leave a lot to the imagination because I’m not really one for seeing a lot of that, Hostel is still burned into my memory haha.
You’ll be okay! It’s not nearly as bad as Hostel :)
This look pretty damn good!
It’s a lot of fun and very original. I think you’ll really enjoy it!
I should keep my eyes open for it. Theatre or DVD?
Definitely. Look for it on DVD, it’s releasing here in the States in about a month so I’m not sure when you will be able to get it. You might already be able to.
Hmm, will have a look into it. Gotta ask these things seeing as we are very uninformed about these types of things here!
Nice that you like this, Ry. I’ll definitely add it to my ever-growing queue. :-)
It’s a great movie and if nothing else, watch it for Isabelle. She’s fantastic in it.
I saw a poster for it and read the plot premise and it sounds pretty awesome. It’s been a long time since I saw good horror flick so I’m definitely going to see this one soon.
It’s really great. I would definitely recommend it. Katharine Isabelle is pretty fantastic in it as well! Thanks for stopping by!