Excision (2012)

A disturbed and delusional high school student with aspirations of a career in medicine goes to extremes to earn the approval of her controlling mother.

Director:

Richard Bates Jr.

Writer:

Richard Bates Jr.

Stars:

AnnaLynne McCord, Traci Lords, Ariel Winter

4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
AnnaLynne McCord	...	Pauline
Traci Lords	...	Phyllis
Ariel Winter	...	Grace
Roger Bart	...	Bob
Jeremy Sumpter	...	Adam
John Waters	...	William
Malcolm McDowell	...	Mr. Cooper
Marlee Matlin	...	Amber
Matthew Gray Gubler	...	Mr. Claybaugh
Ray Wise	...	Principal Campbell
Molly McCook	...	Natalie
Natalie Dreyfuss	...	Abigail
Brennan Bailey	...	Sebastian
Matthew Fahey	...	Nathan
Cole Bernstein	...	Kimberly

Storyline

This film is about Pauline, a young woman (18yo) who lives with her family and her younger sister Grace who has Cystic Fibrosis. Pauline has some delusions of being a great surgeon, and she also has some horrific dreams that she actually finds "stimulating" to say the least. Her family put up with her delusions and her school classmates find her annoying. But as this is all happening around her she has a plan, a plan that will leave them all shocked, and some people may not survive.

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Plot Keywords:

school | dream | cystic fibrosis | vomit | mother daughter relationship | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 November 2012 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

BXR Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of Excision (2008)

User Reviews

Deliciously Macabre

This film played as part of the 2012 Sydney Film Festival's "Freak Me Out" section. Director, Richard Bates Jr, set out to make a movie that he and his friends would have loved to watch in high school. This he's achieved and so much more.

From the outset, Excision seizes your attention, with its deliciously macabre imagery and malevolent audio track. Unfolding amidst the perfect banality of middle class suburbia, the stage is set for a savage assault on your sensibilities.

Annalynne McCord is fantastic as Pauline - the slouched, ragged, blemished, sociopathic, vexed atheist, sangrephile*, virgin with surgical aspirations and necrophilic fantasies.

In fairness, the entire cast is impressive. You need to keep in mind that this film is the debut feature for a 25 y/o and he claims that persistence worked a charm in signing the talent -- including an Academy Award Winner!

But it's the fantasy sequences that will leave you truly in awe of Excision. Pauline's dreams are tantalisingly lurid, so utterly vile -- yet shot so beautifully. Luminous and vibrant, these scenes impact and leave a stain that won't come out in a cold wash. In fact, at least one person passed out at the screening I attended -- for real.

Far from wallowing in this depravity, Excision succeeds in exploring complex relationships, themes of religious zealotry and how problematic being a self-taught expert can be. All this and a killer soundtrack to boot.

I have to add that I had the extraordinary privilege of enjoying the greatest Q&A session in Sydney Film Festival history! Richard Bates was "slightly intoxicated" and proceeded to share some outrageous stories with us all. It caused a slight scandal, but, given the content of the film we all came to watch, his conduct was completely acceptable. Moreover, it was rare to see a person be so genuine and hysterically funny.

With his next project in the works, Richard Bates Jr just might be a name to keep an eye out for. I mean, if Peter Jackson can start with Bad Taste...I'm just sayin'... ;)

More importantly, for those of you with a taste for twisted film making

• Excision is a must see.

*sangrephile - I made this up because I couldn't find a word for someone who loves blood & isn't a vampire!