Brief review: "Teeth"

Distributor: Dimension Extreme

Teeth is one bizarrely gruesome and hilarious film. It concerns Dawn (Jess Weixler), a virginal high school girl dedicated to remaining as such until marriage. She is the head of the local "Purity Pledge" group and wears a ring symbolizing her dedication to the cause.

That is, until one of her fellow group members forces himself on her and tries to rape her. Unfortunately for him, she has was is termed "Vagina Dentata" AKA teeth. Needless to say, things don't end well for him.

At first horrified with her "adaptation," it is not long before Dawn begins to view it as something of a gift as she gets revenge on all the men who have tried to take advantage of her, including her vulgar, arrogant prick of a stepbrother (John Hensley from TV's "Nip/Tuck").

The film definitely has its problems, most notably a pace that could have used some tightening as the story takes too long to get going and yet ends rather abruptly.

Overall though, the film is a success, thanks in large part to Weixler's performance as Dawn. She ably shifts from a goody-two-shoes character at the beginning to a vengeful femme fatale in the film's second half. This is the sort of eye-opening performance that could get her noticed, much like Ellen Page in 2006's "Hard Candy."

The film's sense of humor is very, very dark but it works. Teeth is a very violent film at times but manages to straddle the line between comedy and horror quite well so that both aspects end up in its favor.

If anything, the very last scene is one creepy way to end with something the viewer won't soon forget, along with other scenes I don't want to mention for fear of spoiling the gory hilarity.

Take a look at these Teeth. But be careful not to get too close or else...