I’d wanted to see Teeth since it premiered at Sundance last year, but for whatever reason I never got around to it during it’s short run in the NY theaters. But it’s finally out on DVD and I got to see it last night. As a lifelong horror fan, I had always wondered why no director had ever worked with the concept of Vagina Dentata as the basis for a horror film. But in my head any such eventual movie about Vagina Dentata would have undoubtedly been a slap-sticky exploitation film full of shock & gore. Thankfully Teeth isn’t remotely close to that and goes a different route. Using puberty as metaphor/catalyst in a horror movie for some sort of terrifying change is nothing new, but Teeth cleverly infuses a believable and well crafted teen melodrama into a Revenge Horror fantasy (ala I Spit on Your Grave), with some comedic touches.

While the movie is light on the gore, Director Mitchell Lichtenstein (Son of Roy) does an amazing job of making you hold your own junk and squirm in fear during the handful of “kill scenes”. But the best part of the movie is it’s star Dawn played by Jess Weixler who is not only great eye candy but perfect in her role. If you’re a fan of movies like May or Ginger Snaps, rent this!

On a side note while searching for images for this post I found the graphic for not only the current cover of the DVD but the old promotional poster (pictured above).

It’s funny how the original poster makes Teeth out to be an American Pie style teen comedy, while the new DVD cover is all grim and ominous. The confusion in marketing horror!