It's a credit to all involved in the development of Teeth that such a bizarre and, quite frankly, ludicrous premise can be put to such brilliant and believable effect.
Based on the genuine mythological concept of 'vagina dentata' (dentata being Latin for teeth - you work out the rest), young high school spokesperson for teenage abstinence, Dawn (brilliantly played by newcomer Jess Weixler),battles against her own physical naivety and flourishing adolescent feelings for a new boy at school. After becoming the victim of a rape, however, Dawn learns some confusing lessons about sex, and her purist beliefs only serve to confound her perplexity about what happens during those intimate moments.
In many respects, it's Dawn's essential purity in a world filled with chaos and debauchery that make her such an incredible canvas on which the filmmakers paint the genesis of such a wonderful monster. Believable and fully developed of character are not phrases I'd expect to use in a horror film based on such a fantastical concept as a girl with two sets of teeth, but that's precisely what this movie is.
The way in which Weixler's character discovers her anatomical uniqueness plays out superbly, and takes the kind of emotional toll that makes the audience feel genuine pity for one so afflicted. Learning, to her peril, that her preaching on the values of abstinence are, in her case, survival lessons, Dawn's world is not only shaken but turned upside down and beaten with a rubber hose.
Gradually learning about the power - as well as the curse - that she carries between her legs, Dawn's maturing nature comes thick and fast as those who attempt to take advantage are taught lessons no man could ever forget. And the dudes out there should be warned - no matter how deep your love or gore-nography goes (and you're talking to a guy who say Day of the Dead at the age of 10 here, and fell immediately in love with horror films) the necessary and well directed scenes of castration present in Teeth will bring a cushion from your groin to your face and back again.
Teeth is a contemporary Carrie with a little extra bite, and the kind of glistening indie gem floating amidst the vast, oceanic cesspool of modern cinema that you absolutely must see. For once, this is a horror flick you girlfriend will weather far better than you do, but that's just another vital credit to writer/director Mitchell Lichtenstein that we all must acknowledge.
Check out the trailer, then check out the film. Then check out your manhood to make sure it's still there.
