The Woman

This well-made horror films starts off as a disquietening and disturbing tale of female suppression and toxic, fascistoid male dominance till it culminates in a wildly gory and shocking finale with some twists and an ambiguous open ending.

I found the music way more disturbing than anything in the film. The levels of the music were way too loud compared to the rest of the sounds in the film. I really wanted to enjoy this but the music ruined it. Seems like the director owed someone a favor or they held his family captive unless he put this music in his movie.

The Woman arrives on DVD and Bluray amidst almost a year of controversy and festival runs. The picture was accused of misogyny, horrific violence, and bad music. Two of these three things are true. Let's just say certain musical selections don't really make sense in a film of this subject, and the violence will surely have innocents running for the door. "The Woman" sports a deeply feminist view upon domestic violence and the domination of man over women in contemporary society. However the film does not focus it's killer's eyes on the disturbing, horrible men featured here. A crucial moment underlines the idea that we all have the power to change a lurid situation drastically, and if you do not seize that opportunity, you are just as guilty as an aggressor. My heart broke for all the women in this film, including the titular cannibal. They endure some of the worst male behavior ever seen in a suburban, or civilized, society and the violence that embeds the last half hour is blunt and brutal. Director Lucky McKee injects so much energy into this film, but he doesn't glorify the violence. It's the audience's choice, myself included, to crack a smile when certain characters get what's coming to them. Prepare to be made uncomfortable, disturbed, scared, and finally short of breath by The Woman.

Gory in parts, but some cracking performances by the actors, and though a slightly predictable plot, it kept me at the edge of my seat nearly all the way through. A powerful performance from Pollyanna McIntosh. She stole the movie. She has just the right amount of masculine feral power mixed with feminine vulnerability to make her character truly believable and you root for her and the final denouement all the way through the film. The air of menace mixed with devastating elements of bullying and cruelty by the sadistic father and his effect on the psyches of his family are well handled and plausible.

Highly recommended.

I agree with most of the other 5-6-7 star reviews. Read those for an idea of what you're in for. But dang, that "soundtrack" is terrible. Rather than using music that elevate the scenes, the film forces us to listen to entire songs -wuth lyrics - at almost every turn, and those songs have little to do with what's happening on screen. Like the director took a demo tape from his buddy's garage band and said "Sure, this'll do". Really the weakest part of the movie.