Best of Frightfest: As the twentieth anniversary of Arrow Video Frightfest approaches, we at team THN take a look back at some of the best and brightest films that have screened over the last two decades. Up today, American Mary.
At this years Frightfest, The Soska Sisters will be debuting their retelling of David Cronenberg’s cult classic Rabid. In honour of this, it seems only right to include another Soska Sister Frightfest film, American Mary. Starring Ginger Snaps’ Katharine Isabelle as the titular Mary, the film explores the topic of body modification.
Mary is a medical student with an extreme cash-flow problem. Hoping to make some fast money, she applies for a job at a strip club. Whilst there, she meets the club owner Billy whom is in need of someone with medical expertise to stitch-up an injured man in the basement. The injury is clearly the result of criminal activities, but after Billy offers her $5,000 to fix the guy up, no questions, she obliges. Her work is noticed by a stripper at the club whom offers her a lot of money to help her friend achieve her life-long dream of becoming a living doll. Mary accepts and soon finds herself drawn into the world of extreme body modification which takes her down a dark path after she is assaulted by her surgical mentor.
The film opens the eyes to this underbelly of plastic surgery and several cast members are actually part of the real-life body modification community. The use of real people adds an extra layer of validity to the proceedings. It would be all too easy to write the subject matter as pure fantasy, but people really do have these extreme and strange desires. The Soska Sisters also make an extended appearance as twins who ask Mary to swap their left arms over, so that they always have a piece of the other with them.
In addition to the grounded base, it is Katharine Isabelle’s performance that makes the film so watchable. Her turn as Mary is hypnotic and allowed her to tap into a different part of her psyche to what we had seen previously. There are some very dark moments in American Mary, but Isabelle handles them in a mature way, as do the Soska Sisters behind the camera.
Wrapping-up the enthralling narrative and performances are some top quality effects. In this day and age there is an over reliance on visual effects, but there are none to see here. All effects are practical, and practical effects always make things more visceral. This means that you’ll need a strong stomach to endure parts of the film, but that’s what makes it extra special.
Given the reception that American Mary got from the Frightfest audience, we can’t wait to see what they make of their take on Rabid.
Arrow Video Frightfest returns for its twentieth year on 22nd August 2019. Full details about the event can be found on the Frightfest website.
Kat Hughes is a UK born film critic and interviewer who has a passion for horror films. An editor for THN, Kat is also a Rotten Tomatoes Approved Critic. She has bylines with Ghouls Magazine, Arrow Video, Film Stories, Certified Forgotten and FILMHOUNDS and has had essays published in home entertainment releases by Vinegar Syndrome and Second Sight. When not writing about horror, Kat hosts micro podcast Movies with Mummy along with her five-year-old daughter.
