AMERICAN MARY

Mary Mason’s dream in life is to become a surgeon, but medical studies aren’t cheap and no matter how intelligent, talented and ambitious she is, at the moment she doesn’t have one cent to continue her education. She even auditions with a strip club to earn a little extra. But the owner makes her a surprising offer : stitching up someone who was beaten into a bloody pulp in the basement. It’s very unpleasant work, but it pays well and it draws the attention of stripper Beatress. She had her body changed to look like Betty Boop. Impressed by Mary’s work, she offers her money for some drastic plastic surgery. And that’s how Mary gets drawn into the “body mod” community. The members consider their body to be an empty canvas that can be cut into and altered as they please. It doesn’t take long before stress, personal problems and the increasingly extreme demands of her “patients” drive Mary over the edge. Horror doesn’t have to be an exclusively male domain. The identical twins Jen and Sylvia Soska inject a well needed dose of estrogen into the genre. Their controversial debut feature, Dead Hooker In A Trunk, gained lots of festival attention, but with American Mary they make a huge leap forward. It’s not only a compelling and disturbing exploration of a little known subculture, but also a mind boggling American Psycho-like social satire. Katherine Isabelle, the heroine from the Ginger Snaps trilogy, delivers a stand-out performance as Mary Mason.