American Mary

Mary is a promising medical student who has a traumatic encounter with a surgeon who is her professor. Things turn bloody when after a few surgical body modifications to earn money, Mary seeks revenge on her attacker. The sadism is pretty stomach turning, and the film uses Schubert's Ave Maria once and Bach's version twice before it is over, a very strange choice of music, indeed. The premise is interesting and Katharine Isabelle is compelling in the lead. The patients seeking bizarre physical alterations is fairly disgusting. Jen and Sylvia Soska are the directors, and judging by this work, they are seriously disturbed women. The movie is extremely dark and it kept me interested to the last scene which was a bit disappointing. As a thriller, it is slightly above average, and a 6/10.

Movie review:The twisted twins, Sylvia and Jen Soska, are back with their second full length feature. Now that people are taking notice to their talent, this time they have a budget (although they did need to take out a second mortgage to get the project off the ground). Anyway, this movie is about Mary, a brilliant med student studying to be a surgeon. Of course, money issues arise, as seems to always happen to college kids, so she decides stripping may be the way to go. While "interviewing" for the job, a strange occurrence puts here in the helm of a situation where she is needed to perform surgery at the club for quick cash. She soon realizes that maybe under the table surgical procedures may become a way to make money, so when a woman tracks her down after finding her resume at the club, she takes on a second patient. Mary finds herself juggling the task of student and surgeon on the side. Well, the life of being a student is crossed when she is invited to a "party" where she is the guest of honor, so to speak, and the world of the actual surgeons take a toll on her as she is drugged and raped. This incident pushes Mary over the edge and she takes matters into her own hands. This movie does a wonderful job weaving the tale of a woman that is forced into a life she wasn't prepared for, that of BME and revenge. It follows her downward spiral balancing reality with the virtually psychotic road she has chosen. The movie is much more polished than it's predecessor and it shows in the quality of camera-work and editing. The acting is very well done by Katherine Isabelle as Mary, and the other actors hold their own in their respective roles. Of course, the blood and gore is there, but not as extensive as their previous effort. It really wasn't needed for the story the twins wrote. American Mary had a limited theater release so you may or may not have had the chance to see it. If not, I again highly suggest that you see this movie. It is good to see new talent emerging with entertaining movies that don't follow the cookie cutter mold Hollywood has been giving us. 6.4/10 IMDb 6.0 . I very much anticipate the next release from these two.

This is an incredible story of revenge with a lot of gore mixed in. Would watch again.

Worth a watch if your into revenge/slasher movies. Well acted, sexy and dark. Enjoyed it!

One of the most original horror films of recent years American Mary is a darkly comic gore- fest about revenge and back-street body modification.

Mary (Katherine Isabelle) is a promising and dedicated medical student who, like all students at one point or another in their studies, falls foul of financial difficulty. Lured into the world of body modification by the handsome prices offered by weirdos with a desire to make themselves more unique, Mary finds a way to continue her studies whilst earning some pretty good money. Wrongly assumed to have become a prostitute by her creepy professor she is invited to a sleazy surgeons party unaware that he has ulterior motives that make her new found profession start to take over her life.

American Mary is one of few horror films that's focus is on the female character's strength. Mary goes from being a hardworking model student to a psychotic body modification surgeon in a seedy strip club where she originally auditioned to work. The transformation from quiet student to headstrong surgical dominatrix after being violated is both empowering and contradictory of the traditional representation of women in horror. Katherine Isabelle is as charismatic as she is beautiful and she completely owns the character. She maintains an air of mystery which makes you constantly question her intentions towards the people she meets and her performance will keep you on your toes.

Darkly comedic and completely twisted American Mary is one damn good reason for women in the media to be more prevalent in the horror genre; there's no fluff in this film, no cliché crap and very little predictability. It has no eye-roll moments of exploitation and Isabelle's performance is empowering for women as well as easy on the eye for the men; a good balance that excludes neither gender from the audience like so many horror films do. The Soska sisters show their love for the horror genre and its brutality but also its more sexy side (which is weird considering all the blood, but there we go!) and American Mary is clearly a labour of love and not just some uncared for cliché torture porn that's been churned out as a money maker. The settings are seedy and dark and the sleazy underbelly of society is well portrayed but in an almost desirable fashion that enables us to see how easy it is for Mary to get sucked in to this world where money comes easily if you're willing to leave your comfort zone.

If you can ignore the occasionally questionable performances American Mary is an all round brilliant horror film that sucks you in to this brutal, seedy, sexy universe for 100 minutes and refuses to let your attention slip. What happens to Mary's professor is as genius as it is disturbing, but you will have to watch to find out for yourself.