Excision (2012)
Directed by Richard Bates Jr.
Here's another one riding the edge of Horror. Is this a Black Comedy, or a Psychological Thriller, or is it a Horror Film. The answer is that it's all three. It's a brutally funny take on suburban shallowness, it's a portrait of developing madness, but it ends in pure Horror territory.
Pauline is a weird, fucked up teenager who has vividly violent visions, and dreams of being a surgeon, though she can't pass math. Her rigidly conservative mother played by Traci Lords, doesn't know what to do with her. Neither do her teachers, and most of the students just try to stay out of her way. She's fascinated by blood and often has intense sexually charged fantasies. Through much of the movie these fantasies are the recurring horror elements. Her mother claims that the family can't afford a psychiatrist, so Pauline endures hostile (On Pauline's Part) therapy sessions with the family's Minister played by John Waters. The closest thing she has to a friend is her younger sister who suffers from Cystic Fibrosis. As time passes we watch as Pauline drifts further and further from reality.
The presence of John Waters, and Traci Lords (who does a fantastic job) gives a good indication of how to take this movie. The humour is dry, and intentionally awkward, but often very funny. It comes off somewhere between May (2002), and Welcome To The Dollhouse (1995). If you can handle some bloody gore with your sharp satire, this is worth a look.
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