Teeth 2008

One of my favorite movies. I remember a lot of hype when this was released, and I was expecting it to be low-budget garbage, boy, was I surprised.
The movie follows Dawn - played flawlessly by Jess Weixler. We start with her as a child, then quickly jump to her as a teen. Dawn is part of an abstinence cult, and her life spirals out when she learns - the hard way - that something is different about her.
What's important to know about Teeth is that it's a dark comedy. It walks a razor's edge between comedy and rape-revenge horror, but only has one very graphic scene of gore. The horror is absolutely there the entire time, though a careful balance is always going to keep it within the bounds of comedy.
Look there's no nice way to say this, the pervasive theme here is sexual assault. Being able to weave in and out of humor, and solemn moments over the runtime is a true testament to how good the writing, directing, and acting are. It truly is astounding how a scene can start out fun, then get dark, then violent, then funny, and somehow manage to stick the landing of being dead serious about what just happened.

I do want to take a moment and talk about some of the negativity I saw in early reviews for this - maybe it no longer applies, but still.
There were reviews calling this an ultra-feminist movie that paints all men as rapists. I don't get that. In fact, I'll say it is demonstrably false. There were five examples of bad men. Five. Meanwhile, Dawn's stepfather, Bill, seems to have slipped everyone's mind - funny that; he is depicted as a loving husband, and a good father. Kind of blows a hole in the narrative, doe'n'it?
Furthermore, when we take a look at the five men in question, the first two were actual rapists. You want to defend that? The next two were just sleazy, and kind of had it coming. Call it harsh, call it instant karma, if you wish. Lastly, we have an old pervert who likely needed to be taught a lesson decades ago, and just now stuck his hand in the wrong cookie jar.
Look, I disagree with attacks on works of fiction in general, for the mere fact that this is not real. Understand? I'd have a totally different opinion if the movie was blatantly bashing men. Yet, as I have illustrated, the enemy here is not men - full stop - the enemies are predators. If you look at that, and feel attacked, you may want to take a long hard look in the mirror.

To circle back, this is one of my favorite movies, mainly because of Dawn's arc. She starts as a timid little flower, and by the end, she has become something else. No, not a monster, a hero. This is a hero's origin story. Although, Dawn doesn't fly or climb walls or have super strength, no, she cuts off your dick. Super villains beware!