Day 171 of the challenge! I remember when Teeth first came onto the scene back when I was in middle school. It was one of those taboo things we whispered about in the hallways or in the school courtyard, trying hard not to be overheard by any girls or teachers as we did. "Hey, have you heard about that vagina teeth movie? So weird!" It didn't help that most guys at that age are also still trying to figure out the mystery of courtship and the differences between men and women. Or maybe that was just me.
Anyway... Back then, my douchey adolescent mind "knew" Teeth was a different kind of horror movie, but my mind was incapable of grasping narrative related concepts like themes, feminism, horror tropes, coming of age or sexual awakening stories, etc. So I carried this perception of Teeth being an edgy art-house masterpiece that took a special kind of mindset to understand for years, up until it occurred to me finally watch it in it's entirety ( I remember seeing a clip or two in high school, but nothing else). I have to say, my mind was BLOWN by what Teeth actually was.
Instead of being the horror masterpiece I expected after years of holding it up on it's perverse pedestal, Teeth turned out to be one of the cringiest and most absurd movies I have ever seen. I told a friend of mine it was like sitting down to watch something like Raw, but being given Scary Movie instead. The acting is terrible, the satire edging too close to full on parody (the gynecologist scene was hilarious, but a small part of me died while watching it...) and the characters just...wow. I'm down for mixing comedy with horror, but it never fully became one here. They just kept switching back and forth between the two, giving me some serious tonal whiplash.
What's most frustrating is that there is an inkling of that art-house horror movie I expected sprinkled throughout the film. Teeth has plenty on it's mind, and has a very unique story to explore everything it wants to say, but I can't feel like the film kept getting in it's own way, tripping to the end. It's an enjoyable movie for sure, but not for the reasons I think it wanted.