| Teeth | |
|---|---|
theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Mitchell Lichtenstein |
| Produced by | Mitchell Lichtenstein Joyce 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 Dimension Extreme (DVD) |
| Release date(s) | January 19, 2007 |
| Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2,340,110 |
Teeth is a 2007 comedy horror film written and directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein, about a teenage 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 United States on May 6, 2007, by Dimension Extreme.
Contents |
Dawn O’Keefe (Jess Weixler) is a teenage spokesperson for a Christian abstinence group called The Promise. She attends groups with her two friends, Alisha (Julia Garro) and Phil (Adam Wagner). One evening after giving her speech talking about the purity 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. Dawn gets uncomfortable and tries to get them to go back. Tobey then attempts to force sex on Dawn, who panics and tries to push him off. Tobey becomes aggressive and shakes Dawn, resulting in her smacking her head on the ground. While she is recovering from disorientation, Tobey takes this as his chance to begin raping her. Dawn fights back and inadvertently bites off his penis with her vagina. Horrified, he stumbles away and she flees the scene. After a Promise meeting, she meets her classmate Ryan (Ashley Springer) at a dance; they talk, and he drops her off at her home.
Dawn drops her purity ring off a cliff and even goes back to the swimming hole, only causing her to scream in horror because a freshwater crab was crawling on Tobey's penis. She then researches "vagina dentata" and realizes she may have it. Then, she visits a gynecologist, Dr. Godfrey (Josh Pais) in an attempt to find out what is happening to her. Finding out that she has never visited a gynecologist before, he takes advantage of her and molests her under the pretense of performing a test. Crying out in pain, she panics and her vagina bites off four of the fingers on his right hand. On her way back, she sees a police officer driving Tobey's car, who demands that she pull over to the side of the road on her bike. After, she decides to go back to visit the pool to investigate. When she gets there she sees the police bringing up Tobey's body. At home, her ill mother, Kim O'Keefe (Vivienne Benesch) collapses, Dawn's stepbrother, Brad (John Hensley) and his girlfriend Melanie (Nicole Swahn) ignore her and continue to have sex while she lies on the floor. Kim is taken to the hospital.
Dawn goes to Ryan seeking help 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 stepfather, Bill (Lenny von Dohlen), attempts to throw Brad out, Brad sets his dog on Bill. Dawn meets her stepfather and Melanie at the hospital, and emboldened by her power, she goes back home to seek revenge. Dawn puts on make-up and goes to her stepbrother, and they engage in sex. In the middle of the act, Brad recalls when he was younger and his finger was bitten by Dawn, that it wasn’t her mouth that bit him. As he realizes 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 genital piercing; Dawn leaves him to bleed to death.
Dawn cycles away from home, but her bike tire sustains a puncture, so she begins hitchhiking. 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 hesitates, and then looks towards the camera—and the old man—with a seductive smile.
|
|
The film premiered January 19, 2007 at the Sundance Film Festival.
It was also shown at the following film festivals:
It opened in limited release in the United States on January 18, 2008.[1] The film was released on DVD on May 6, 2008.
The film received mostly positive reviews from critics; review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 82% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 61 reviews—with the consensus that the film is "smart, original, and horrifically funny." 46% of viewers liked the film according to the website.[2] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 57 out of 100, based on 22 reviews.[3]
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]
In addition, 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".