Excision left me at a loss for words. I feel like I’m usually better with introductions but I’m not really sure where to start with this one. I guess I will start with saying that even though I am head over heels in love with this movie and want to watch it again, I am only giving it a 4 out of 5 stars. As perfect as the movie almost was, there were shortcomings that translated to me deducting a total point from it’s overall score. In hopes that I can make this review somewhat readable, I will start with the basic plot of the story. Pauline (perfectly played by AnnaLynne McCord) is a 17 year old possibly lesbian misfit. She has thoughts of necrophilia and sexual perversion beyond even my imagination and she chooses to carry herself in a sociopath-type manner. The film is strange, and as a character she is even stranger.
The character traits that McCord takes on as an actress to successfully pull this off is just downright jaw-dropping. I almost couldn’t believe McCord, who I refer to as the pretty girl on tv, had the talent and balls to do what she did in the movie. As Pauline, she is completely narcissistic, sociopathic, sexually disturbed, perverse, and egomaniacal. She starts out in the movie as just your average, creepy teenage outcast, but her alienation from her mother and her opposition to her family’s religious beliefs take her in a direction that she has no control over. This leads her down an insanely bizarre road that makes the film visually striking. The scenes where blood is present are the most disturbing. As it is, the make up used on McCord to bring her from beauty queen to caveman lookalike make her look creepy as hell. Along with her bony body, she just has a completely off-putting appearance. McCord works the hell out of the angles and the camera in making herself the creepiest she can possibly be. Adding blood to the already eccentric and unstable Pauline amounts to disaster and she does things on screen that make the audience cringe and squirm.
This isn’t just your typical gore film, its so much more. The realness of the characters and the plot make the viewer almost fall into the movie. Its not necessarily the gore that makes it such a sick film, I believe it is Pauline. Pauline is addictive, in that the viewer cannot stop watching this out of control train wreck as she spins in a very downward spiral. She acknowledges her chemical imbalance and is completely aware of the fact that she needs psychological help, yet her delusions get the best of her and her crazy and twisted fantasies are what drive her to carry out the insane actions witnessed in the film. I have been raving and raving about this film because it is so original, so perfectly directed, and so watchable, but now its time for a bit of a rant and for me to justify giving it only 4 stars. I felt like the climax in the film wasn’t enough. As much as the film was badass and I can’t wait to watch it again, I feel it was lacking. Obviously I have gone on raving about how good the characters were, but that wasn’t the problem. For how insane and just completely fucked Pauline is, I thought the plot would be a bit more dramatic. She does all this nasty stuff, but I don’t think it adds to the film and the plot the way I wanted it to, rather it adds to her character development. I felt like watching the character development was better than watching the plot, which is always a minus in my book. Although Pauline is a girl I will never forget, the purpose of the film almost doesn’t seem to exist. She does all this crazy shit, but once you start getting towards the end, you wonder what the point of the whole story is. I get that its edgy, and bizarre, and thrilling, but what was the whole purpose of this film? I felt like it was mostly just about a crazy character, but the plot itself wasn’t strong enough to be good without psycho Pauline there to move it along.
I have to recommend this film as a top priority for anyone that loves fucked up shockers that define the line between normal people and possible nutjobs. Just everything about the visuals and the acting is beautiful and makes the movie one to remember. As far as plot goes, it wasn’t the strongest, like I said, but it’s fucking nuts and I don’t think you will regret watching this film. It is an absolute roller coaster ride with lots of jaw-dropping thrills and surprises. Are you done reading this review yet? Time to go watch Excision.
Gorror 