Teeth (film)

Teeth (film)
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Teeth

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein
Produced by Richard E. Chapla Jr.
Mitchell Lichtenstein
Joyce M. Pierpoline
Written by Mitchell Lichtenstein
Starring Jess Weixler
Hale Appleman
John Hensley
Music by Robert Miller
Cinematography Wolfgang Held
Editing by Joe Landauer
Distributed by Roadside Attractions
Release date(s) January 19, 2007 (Sundance)
January 18, 2008
Running time 94 minutes
Country USA
Language English
Budget $2,000,000
Gross revenue $1,875,335

Teeth is a horror-black comedy film written and directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein, about a girl who has teeth in her vagina. It premiered January 19, 2007 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival in the independent drama category. It was released on DVD in the US on May 6, 2008 by Dimension Extreme.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Plot
* 2 Cast
* 3 Release
* 4 Critical reception
o 4.1 Sundance
o 4.2 Additional Awards
* 5 References
* 6 External links

[edit] Plot

Dawn O’Keefe (Jess Weixler) is a teenage spokesperson for a Christian Abstinence group called The Promise. She attends groups with her two friends, Gwen (Julia Garro) and Phil (Adam Wagner). One evening after giving her speech talking about the ring those in the group wear and what it means she is introduced to Tobey (Hale Appleman) and finds him attractive.

The four begin going out as a group and Dawn has fantasies of marrying Tobey, although after acknowledging the attraction they agree that they cannot spend time together. Soon after they give in and meet at a local swimming hole. After swimming together they go in to a cave to get warm and begin kissing. Tobey then forces himself on Dawn, in the panic her vagina (DVD) bites off his penis. She flees the scene, leaving him to bleed out. After a Promise meeting, she meets her classmate Ryan (Ashley Springer) at a dance, they talk and he drops her off home.

Dawn researches Vagina dentata and realises she may have it and then visits a gynaecologist Dr. Godfrey (Josh Pais) in an attempt to find out what is happening to her. Finding out that she is a virgin he attempts to take advantage of her by saying he is performing a test, when what he is really doing is molesting her. She panics and her vagina bites off the fingers on his right hand. He screams “vagina dentata” in his pain. On her way back she sees someone driving in Tobey's car and she goes back to visit the pool. When she gets there she sees the police bringing up Tobey's body. At home her ill mother Kim O'Keefe(Vivienne Benesch) collapses, but Dawn's step-brother, Brad (John Hensley) and his girlfriend Melanie (Nicole Swahn) continue to have sex while she lies on the floor. Kim is taken to hospital.

She goes to Ryan and the two successfully have sex. The following morning they have sex again, but mid-coitus Ryan’s friend calls and Dawn learns that he had a wager on having sex with her. In her anger her vagina bites off his penis, and she leaves him to call his mother for help.

Dawn learns her mother has died, and after her step-father Bill O'Keefe (Lenny Von Dohlen) attempts to throw Brad out he sets his dog on him. Dawn meets her step-father and Melanie at the hospital and emboldened by her power she goes back home to seek revenge. Dawn admits her feelings for her step-brother and they engage in sex. In the middle of the act Brad recalls when he was younger and being bitten on the finger by Dawn, he remembers that it wasn’t her mouth that bit him. As he realises this Dawn’s vagina bites off his penis. She releases it on the ground and Brad’s dog eats it, spitting out the glans and Prince Albert piercing. Dawn leaves him to bleed out.

Dawn cycles away from home, but her bike sustains a puncture so she begins hitch hiking. She gets a lift from an old man (Doyle Carter) but when she reaches the next gas station and tries to get out he locks the doors. He licks his lips as if to ask for a sexual favor to release her, Dawn looks towards camera and gives a kinky smile.

[edit] Cast

* Jess Weixler as Dawn O'Keefe
* John Hensley as Brad Swanson O'Keefe
* Josh Pais as Dr. Godfrey
* Hale Appleman as Tobey
* Lenny Von Dohlen as Bill O'Keefe
* Vivienne Benesch as Kim O'Keefe
* Ashley Springer as Ryan
* Julia Garro as Gwen
* Nicole Swahn as Melanie
* Adam Wagner as Phil

[edit] Release

The film premiered January 19, 2007 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

It was also shown at the

* Berlin International Film Festival,
* Nantucket Film Festival,
* Sydney International Film Festival,
* Melbourne International Film Festival,
* London FrightFest Film Festival,
* Deauville Festival of American Cinema,
* Hamptons International Film Festival,
* Auckland International Film Festival.

It opened in limited release in the United States on January 18, 2008.[1] The film was released on DVD on May 6, 2008.

[edit] Critical reception

The film received mostly positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 81% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 59 reviews — with the consensus that the film is "smart, original, and horrifically funny."[2] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 57 out of 100, based on 22 reviews.[3]

[edit] Sundance

Reaction from the 2007 Sundance Film Festival was positive, with Cinematical critic Scott Weinberg saying, "Teeth is precisely the sort of genre movie that we need to see more of."[4] Adrienne Shelly Foundation artistic director Mystelle Brabbée declared it "one of the most talked-about films at the Sundance Film Festival this year".[5]

Jess Weixler won the Special Jury Prize for Dramatic Performance (and tied with Tamara Podemski from the film Four Sheets to the Wind).[6]

[edit] Additional Awards

Weixler and Hensley were honored at Spike TV's 2008 Scream Awards. The pair won the award for "Most Memorable Mutilation" for "Penis Bitten Off By Vagina With Teeth"

[edit] References

1. ^ "Teeth (2007/I) - Release dates". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
2. ^ "Teeth - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
3. ^ "Teeth (2008): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
4. ^ "Sundance Review: Teeth", Cinematical (2007-01-21). Retrieved on 24 January 2007.
5. ^ Burnham, Gabriella (2007-11-04). "2007 Film Festival focus centers on female screenwriters", The Inquirer and Mirror. Retrieved on 17 November 2007.
6. ^ "2007 Sundance Film Festival award winners". The Salt Lake Tribune (2007-01-28). Retrieved on 2007-01-28.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teeth_(film)