The Woman (VOD/V)
| release date | January 24 2012 |
| studio | Bloody Disgusting Selects, Moderncine |
| director | Lucky McKee |
| writer | Jack Ketchum, Lucky McKee |
| starring | Pollyanna McIntosh, Sean Bridgers, Angela Bettis |
| rating | R |
| site | bloody-disgusting.com/selects |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
13 Comments
The Woman is the kind of horror film that nestles itself under your skin and festers into something uncomfortable and unbearable. It’s a drama about a very bad man and his attempt at civilizing a wild, feral woman. Make no mistake, a warm and fuzzy family drama this is not. Mr Cleeks attempts at civilizing involving chaining The Woman up, giving her the nastiest of showers and late night rape sessions. His power over his family mean that they are helpless and can only stand by and watch and participate in the treatment The Woman endures. The film does contain some nasty, gory violence but there is also a vibe of general hatred towards women. Not only does Mr Cleek terrorize The Woman locked in his basement, but he also rules over his wife, who he has no qualms in beating, and his daughter who may or may not be pregnant with his child. The unfortunate thing is that this horrid domestic situation is observed by his son who also seems to think that it’s OK to terrorize and hate females. Pollyanna McIntosh is excellent as The Woman and puts in a brave and powerful performance. Watching her rise up over her captors is a thing of beauty. Just watch what she does with a lawn mower blade and her bare hands. You’ll be cheering The Woman on as she exacts her bloody revenge. The Woman is a powerful film with several strong messagages, but the misogynistic vibe that pulses so strongly through it stops it, well for me that is, from being a classic.
This movie is definately worth a view, as it’s a vicious and intense experience. Is it art? That’s really the question. The director’s message is murky at best, most of the characters are reprenhensible and there is definately an air of misogny in the mix. Not as shocking as we have all been lead to believe but definately worth talking about.
I don’t get why people like this movie. I felt it was quite laughable. It looked so cheap and just wasnt good in any way! I feel people automatically like movies just because they contain controversial behavior . I seem to have higher standards then most I guess
I’m a huge McKee and Bettis fan, but I was really disappointed in this. The production values did seem cheap, and overall I was bored.
Spoiler alert for other Angela Bettis fans – she doesn’t do anything.
I think the massive amount of hype I’ve seen on this site might leave others disappointed too
Regarding Jack Ketchum, if the Master of Horror Stephen King mentions him as ‘the scariest guy
in America’, then it is gospel. If Ketchum makes King’s legs tremble, imagine what his stories
must be. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on the eye of the reader), I read the first
novel in the trilogy (Off Season is its title and The Woman is the third installment) of stories
that have as focus to a group of cannibals, and nearly died. I could not read the sequel,
Offspring, but I did see the movie and I was quite disappointed.
Now, I read one book, I saw one movie, and finally, The Woman came first in its film version
rather than the paper version. What lies ahead this time with Jack Ketchum?
Again, Ketchum has written, in collaboration with director Lucky McKee, a treatise on the human psique, and what is behind the gruesome and disturbing desires of the human being. I havent read the book, but I guess it’s just as powerful and devastating as the movie. The weight of the
disturbed beyond repair father in this story is so heavy that the only question left is: What is
the worst evil? We can not take the side of despotic and violent Chris Cleek, but should we stand with The Woman, who responds to violence with violence? And depending on the side we choose, does that makes us more or less of a people, more o less of a human being? There is a strong message on the film below the nickname ‘provocative’ …
The way I see it, The Woman is a cautionary tale, a morbid female Tarzan, a B-side to the story Disney never told us, a story they didn’t dare to tell us. After the first impression that
something is wrong with Chris and his fearful family, things do get worse: if having a woman
captive in a basement is sufficient aberration, if you and beat your wife and, immediately
afterwards,lie in bed as if nothing had happened, what you have seen is nothing until the
revelations begin to pile up one by one.They may be explicit or implicit, but the accumulation of
atrocities will be enough once the film reaches its end.
The Woman, on the other hand, could not have been better without its wonderful cast. Pollyanna McIntosh returns to the role of the cannibal woman, and this time she has all the protagonism, because before she had to share it with a whole pack of cannibals who are gone now; this actress is one of the great undiscovered actresses in Hollywood: with the burden she carries thw hole movie, the way she delivers her performance is admirable (delivery is an understatement, she almost leaves her life in there) and the only reaction left is a standing ovation (and when takes its well-deserved revenge, mamma mia!) In contrast, she has the ‘ civilized ‘Sean Bridgers as the patriarch Cleek, in another amazing performance – he understood the word’ deranged ‘perfectly – and the eternal Angela Bettis (McKee’s personal friend) who is the devoted wife andlives under the shadow of her husband, but it bears his own fault. The
children of the couple are very correct all three, from the eldest daughter who hides a murky secret behind those huge, deer eyes, passing through the young man, which strictly follows the footsteps of his father, ant the sweet girl who doesn’t understand quite good what’s happening around her, but with her final gesture one discovers that blood ties are stronger than you could imagine.
For those who have seen that little masterpiece called ‘May’ you may (no pun intended)remember that Lucky McKee is a quite atypical director. The Woman is no exception and has many things that you won’t see in a horror film from a large studio; hell, leave ethics aside and start thinking that no major studio would greenlite this after reading the script. Apart from that, gore fans are in for a treat because if something is not scarce in the movie is blood, but it is reserved for the few genuinely modest moments when it’s needed, where brutality comes out in all its full glory. A pleasure to enjoy the practical effects of the great Robert Kurtzman.
Another key point that I see, a point which many have argued with, is the music. The complete stranger Sean Spillane (who only has The Woman in his CV) composed the themes that appear in the film, both instrumental and the score ones while the movie was being filmed, a detail which puts him in a different place that other composers, and also gives him the opportunity to create a unique ambience for the film, like a second skin. It is true that at times the clash rock songs a bit off, but those themes make the movie. The score reaches perfection with the glorious moment when Chris and Belle give The Woman a sponge bath, with the monumental interpretations from McIntosh, Bridgers and Bettis, and a sublime background music (the music of the moment can be savored in the trailer)
Clearly an enormous jump in quality from Offspring, The Woman really IS the controversial film of the year.
Not that bad. One of the better BD selects. Some decently shocking stuff here and there. For sure a step above yellowbrickroad. Worth a watch and a little extra.
wasn’t too bad, pretty brutal but not over the top. hearing about it and when it started i was thinking “well this is gonna be shit” but i was wrong. definitely the best BD select so far. and the barn scene, The Fuck? crazy!
people on this site are just hating because this really isn’t a horror film.. yeah it has some horror at the end but this is 95% percent drama.. this is a really good movie with solid acting and a solid script.. the need to change the name of the woman to the movie name of.. women know nothing and i hate them.. the dad played a fantastic dick.. cool ending also.. wasn’t expecting that.. and the music was probably my favorite.. the only negative aspect was that it did remind alittle of the girl next door only because tying someone up in the basement.. but both movies are pretty much entirly different.
A world just outside of our own…is what you’d think when watching such a film as The Woman. People we know just don’t behave in a way that the characters in this film do right? That’s just it, quite often, you would never (in a million years) know to suspect any different than how they want you to perceive them. The character development was very effective within the family. The characters fit the environment and the musical scores gave emotion to the cause. This movie was far from perfect, but from what it gave, it gave a lot. Having viewed this film about a month ago, it has stuck with me each day. Pollyanna McIntosh’s performance soared and proved that she is at the top of her game. More disturbing than gory (although it has plenty of it) was what hung on to me the most throughout my post-viewing and which seems to be the reason it keeps calling me back for another view. Just remember, keep an open mind, don’t have any expectations going in and the experience will not disappoint.
Lucky McKee’s Jack-Ketchum-adaptation “The Woman” is a movie you either love or hate – and I really, really hate it with a passion.
Reasons:
- The look and the soundtrack is so annoyingly indie-90s, it makes one puke. Terrible lighting, weak acting, a horrible old-fashioned stoner-indie-grunge-whatever-soundtrack…
It all feels as if McKee gave Larry Clark and Harmony Korine some really bad drugs, dragged them to the film set, sat them on barbed wire chairs and forced them to create something Jack Ketchum (and McKee) can masturbate to.
- Usually I have no problems with disturbing or disgusting movies. I enjoy stuff like “Irreversible” or “I Spit On Your Grave” – but this was too much for me. Call me a pussy, call me a dork, call me the hell you want but there was nearly no scene that was enjoyable to me in any way. It all felt just mean, gross, sick and inhuman.
This is not a feminist, misogynistic or socio-critical movie, this is just a gruesome and unnecessarily extreme movie – gruesome and extreme for all the wrong reasons.
- I hate the fact that every, yes EVERY single character here is absolutely unlikable.
- I hate Angela Bettis’ surprisingly mediocre performance is and Sean Bridgers’ annoying overacting.
- I hate the script which shows nearly no sign of tension, suspense, atmosphere or intelligence.
- I hate the fact that the whole movie is so incredibly packed with open and unanswered questions
- I hate the fact that this is actually a sequel to the horrendously bad crapfest “Offspring”.
- I hate the ending. I hate the ending. I hate the ending.
- I hate the fact that this post turned out to be that long
1 point for the impressive opening, 1 point for Polyanna McIntosh’s performance. Nuff said.
I suggest to watch “A Serbian Film” instead, a movie that is gruesome and extreme for all the right reasons.
http://www.horrormoviediary.net
The movie starts off slow, but if you pay close attention to what is going on and what is being said, you basically know what will happen. Disturbing at times, but I’ve seen worse! The gore doesn’t get too bad until later in the movie, but it is done wonderfully!
Lucky McKee is back and in perfect form in the third and (possibly) final installment of Jack Ketchum’s “Dead River” series of books that began with “Off Season” and “Offspring.” The entire film, from start to finish, is an exercise in tension, balanced with black humor, all beautifully rendered under McKee’s artful eye.
I cannot recommend this movie highly enough. The cast is almost entirely on point, the staging and palette of the film are both beautiful…
Go see “The Woman.” You won’t regret it!
It has been a few months since i watched this flick, but I have to say it was extremely disappointing. I rarely review a movie aside from the over-hyped films on this site (Human Centipede 2, The Woman. Although I did enjoy HC2) I guess this movie just didn’t do it for me. I like shocking just as much as the next guy, but for me the plot just was not there, and I’d hate to say it but i found myself getting bored with it all too often. Worth a look just to see what everyone is talking about and share your opinion on it, but lower your expectations, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
First off, shame on Bloody Disgusting for posting a review of this movie when they have financial interest in the film’s success as one of several production companies involved. Whether the film is good or not, BD should leave the reviewing to truly unbiased critics; otherwise it reflects poorly on the integrity of the entire site.
Secondly, The Woman is simply nowhere near as good as BD’s favorable review would have its readers to believe. If the audience wasn’t walking out halfway through, they were laughing at the non-sensical script, cheesey acting, and podantic cinematography. The soundtrack didn’t help any either as, at best, the music was inappropriate for the scene and, at worst, completely distracting.
Apparently The Woman is part of a series; a fact that most viewers will be unaware of. Perhaps this would help explain some of the odd character choices and seemingly absurd plot twists, but most audiences will be unable to take that into consideration since no reference or connection to previous films is made.
Unless you’re the type to sneak into movies, I’d avoid this one. Granted, it’s long, slow, and makes very little (if any) sense, but if you can see passed that, then go kill yourself an hour and forty two minutes. Especially if you’ve ever wondered how to cut someone in half with a blunt block of wood (spolier: you can’t. double-spoiler: it happens anyway).
The filmmakers should be ashamed for charging you to see this movie. But it’s Bloody Disgusting that should be ashamed for encouraging you to open up your wallet in the first place.
Having enjoyed the Offspring and May, I was still tentative regarding the sequel the Woman. I really should not have been the movie was truly unsettling, a more psychological horror with the proper level of gore which felt necessary to the plot and not gratuitous.
The movie builds up slowly as you feel there is something not quite right with the antagonist, but the feeling something is not quite right. However McKee, keeps adding more and more fuel to that fire and it comes to an explosive head. This is one hell of a well made film with incredible performances from all involved.
Just seen “The Woman”. I say don’t believe the hype basically. How you enjoy this depends entirely how you buy into the “Just found a feral woman bathing in a nearby stream” scenario.
To be honest modern civilisation has been looking for neandothols/yeti’s/ape like creatures for decades but still remains a myth. Hell even X-files tackled the subject way back.
Anyway I digress. Tonally this film is all over the place with music that wouldn’t have been out of place in say a teen rom/com or perhaps Juno. I couldn’t decide if it was a comedy or not, until obviously the final reel. And really the gore??? the gore is just above amateur at best equalling Peter Jacksons “Bad Taste” with slightly darker red.
My only one standout in the whole movie is the poor tortured soul of a wife and daughter which are more tortured (emotionally and physically) than the feral woman her self. Should have just had the wife and daughter in chains. Don’t get me wrong I’ve seen worse but this has no style or art like quailty about it. It just tells a story in an unthrilling, unatmospheric and unemotional way rendering it pretty valueless. And no it’s so not controversial, I’d prefer to watch the Antichrist or something at least that had me mildly interested. If you want to see emotional and physical torture at it’s most rawish and most brutal and expertly staged and played see “Martyrs”.
This is erm below average and I’m being generous
Every horror fan who wants a new touch to the genre, free from cliches should see this, the acting is top notch, and the message very painful yet realistic..
Loved this do much, built up nicely, had an old school feel with an amazing modern soundtrack…. Tense ending, anyone who is put off by the talk of te violence doesn’t need to worry, although Nash in places with some great gore at te end it’s really implied violence (although sometimes that’s the worst). This violence only makes up a small portion of the film…. It’s just a great played out movie, give it a go!
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Man, I hate when a movie is overhyped and you go into it thinking you’re going to get something special and original…….. This did nothing for me.. The violence lackluster, most the acting was terrible and it was all soooo slow and pointless. I love a slow burning horror film but when style and quality are laying on the floor in a pool of excrement.. count me out.
I will say that the final, final scene had a certain ‘well, that’s cool’ thing goin for it.. Honestly, Offspring was better, had me feeling a lot more uncomfortable than this mess.
Finally, a low-budget genre film that offers up something different. It’s shocking in all the right ways. Grotesque, but with a purpose.
This has to be the most overrated horror film of 2011! The film started off pretty good and unpredictable with intense and disturbing scenes with a cast of mostly unknows but if you are a horror fan you might be familiar with Angela Bettis from the director’s other horror offering May and other horror films and gives one of her best performances here as a battered and emotionally abused homemaker, wife and mother. I actually really liked the soundtrack to this film and fits every scene emotionally well and it seems like the film has alot to say on human culture and how we behave and takes bold leaps here and there unlike anything I’ve seen in a horror movie all last year making it one of a kind in its own right and that made it so intriguing and effective and it was like American Beauty meets The Miricle Worker meets Gregory Wilson’s The Girl Next Door with a dash of The Hamiltons twisted up into one messed up horror film. The flaws and plot holes, extremely vile violence which I don’t blame that guy for walking out of this film at that one screening where he got filmed complaining about the film, those alone brings the film down big time for me. There were just no backstory to anyone to explain their motives and how they got to that point leaving you empty and disgusted at the same time so you couldn’t feel for anyone but to watch in dread but their performances were very effective and how some characters stand up against the madness was great a raw and the dad is downright horrifying but the film itself wasn’t scary just frustrating, graphic, dehumanization, depravity on display with no resolution or logic just people’s inner demons bursting uncontrolably out of them. The ending was as expected for a movie like this and didn’t go in a unsuspecting route but in the typical overly gory and disgusting that it sucks all of the effectiveness and potential out of it and had no powerful puch to it which I was hoping it would lead up to and it just went a little over the line and not in a good way and kind of leaving you speechless saying what the fuck was that?! Don’t let me get started on that random scene at the end credits! Overall it had a potentially unforgettable premise but lost my respect during the final act that fell back on gore overload, sometimes less is more which the film was doing in the beginning but went beserk with the finale and I just can’t honestly recommend something as angry, tensed and depressed as this film but a very bold effort for sure, just could of been much better that’s all. Not recommended.
Nice to see that I wasn’t the only one completely pulled out of the picture time and again due to its absolutely awful soundtrack. I cannot think of another movie that so poorly matched the intended emotions within each scene with bland, forgettable “modern rock” songs that had no place anywhere near the film. I can’t say I can recall ever seeing so many slow fade to black edits in a professional film before either.
On the plus side, I found the acting, at least from the three female leads to be quite good. The father and son definitely seemed to struggle at times. All in all, it plays out like you would expect and apart from a few minor pacing issues, I was satisfied with the story progression.
2011 continues to be a year to forget for the horror genre.
What was all the fuss about? I had read so much about this movie and I was eager to see it. It did have a few effective scenes, but I had already seen those online. The rest of the movie barely held my interest. I am now convinced that the infamous viral video of an offended viewer at Sundance was a publicity stunt to promote the film. (duh.) There is simply nothing that bothersome in this movie. In the clip he complains that the film is demeaning to women. Hello, have you never seen a horror film before? Horror films and misogyny have a long and enduring history, and this is no more egregious than ‘Psycho’ in that regard. The audio mastering was all over the place, the music was deafening, but the dialogue was frequently barely audible. We had to ride the volume control for the duration of the film, straining to here people speak then turning it down for a scream or a musical cue. That got really irritating, and took away from any enjoyment of the viewing experience. Another over-hyped effort from Bloody Disgusting, I couldn’t give it more than three stars, and that’s being too generous.
It’s hard to believe that Lucky Mckee started off directing something as awful and messy as “The Woods” and then gone on to direct such amazing horror films such as “May” and now this, “The Woman”. I found “The Woman” on Amazon for the same price on DVD as on Blu-ray and it’s after watching it I know why. “The Woman” isn’t the sort of thing you want to be looking at in high definition. It’s got some of the most sickening and disturbing violence I’ve seen for a long time, but their is also some moments of beauty in there as well. “The Woman” is a fantastic example of modern horror, which I think raises the standards for most modern horror films that are too busy worrying about how shocking they’re being.
“The Woman” is an extremely gripping and engrossing film. The last 20 minutes certainly are some of the most edge-of-your-seat moments I’ve seen as we witness the breakdown of a seriously messed up family. The originality of “The Woman” lies in how the film doesn’t concentrate on the killer woman, but more on the dysfunctional and interesting dynamics of the man who takes her in. The screenplay is extremely harrowing at times, and also very clever. It raises questions about the brutality and savagery of people, feral or otherwise. The character of the father is an extremely complex and interesting one. He’s completely unlikable, and even his family seem afraid of him. We also witness the disturbing sadism of his son, who seems to be catching his father’s traits.
The setup is brilliant and highly original. The directing is also something quite brilliant. It’s often tense and sometimes intense, all adding to the buid-up of the tension between the family and the woman. There’s an excellent disorientating 360 degree camera shot which really captures the pure psychotic nature of the dad. Lucky Mckee knows exactly where to put the audience, and should have the audience screaming for the dad to have his commupance. Our very own May, also does a brilliant job as the tragically cowardly mother, who is hopelessly controlled by her husband.
“The Woman” throws in some seriously discomforting scenes and at times seems incredibly hateful towards men in partiular, showing them as savage and sadistic beasts who disrespect women. It could be potentially offensive to both sexes, but just remember that it’s only a film, and the fact that it’s raising discussion surely can’t be bad thing. The finale is very inventive and quite disturbing, you’ll need a strong stomach to witness quite shocking, but also relevant scenes.
I think that if the pacing had been tightened up a bit (some scenes did seem to unneccesarily drag on) then I would be giving “The Woman” a perfect 10/10 for being an extremely inventive and effective slow-burner, that puts on display, some excellently chilling and intelligent writing along with impressive performances. “The Woman” is a very tense and sometimes intense film that gripped me all the way through. In fact, I think that it should’ve been longer!
@horrorking95….Lucky McKee didn’t start off with The Woods. The Woods was his followup to his directoral debut in May…
This movie did not quite live up to all the hype but I did like it. It was nice seeing something original for once.
Picking up essentially where “The Offspring” left off, The woman is nursing injuries but continues to hunt in the forest of rural Maine. She kills what we can assume is a dog (it happens off screen) before she imagines herself being raised by wolves. Cut to the Northeasts perfect Waspy barbecue, where we meet the Cleeks who seem to be going through all kinds of machinations to prove they are the perfect white American family. Patriarch Chris (Sean Bridgers), is a big fish in a small town, the lawyer everyone trusts. His lovely, perfect wife Belle (McKee favorite Angela Bettis) does everything she can to help Chris maintain his facade. Their kids mingle with the crowd, only receiving a rebuke when three year old Darlin’ tries to kiss a “black” boy. Ahh, racism. Peggy, the Cleeks oldest daughter does her best not to flirt with the boys at the pool. Son Brian relentlessly practices free throws to please his father. All seems well in the land of the Cleeks.
read more @ http://betweentwelveandfourteen.blogspot.com/2012/02/woman-2011.html
The Woman is a sharp, dark modern fable with enough gruesome content to please most gorehounds. It features some excellent acting, namely of Sean Bridgers who perfectly projects a persona of perversion and misogyny hiding behind the guise of a respected father and businessman. Captivating, unsettling and thought provoking The Woman stands along with Coldfish has BD selects finest release to date. a treat for horror fans and brave viewers.
I loved this movie. The book is better, but he movie is really great in my opinion. There were a few things that bugged me (the ending of the book not being included in the film really ruined the ending. And Carlee Baker is a terrible actress…) but other than that, I loved this film. It’s hard to tell that the story is even remotely related to ‘Offspring’, a movie adaptation that was so bad, it hurt.
I give a full review of the movie here if you want more of an opinion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_dx5ARI0oY&context=C398e5fcADOEgsToPDskLxQY9XlGP4pMeaar4ifaIa
FINALLY a movie that not only lives up to its own hype but brings shades of 70′s grind house horror in a serious way. Way above the rest of horror of lately McKees The Woman is a disturbing, gory, nightmarish vision of suburbia!
This movie was pretty great. I am a fan of films that pose questions about who the real monsters are in this world. The characters were really well drawn; the downtrodden Belle, the completely repulsive Chris, and the little sociopath Brian were well acted. And The Woman herself, well, what can I say? Worth watching, for sure.
It’s baffling to me that this film is being marketed as a straight-up horror film; because after watching it, I can say with much confidence that it’s anything but. “The Woman” is more like a provocative and deeply perturbing drama with a blood-soaked finale; in which explosions of brutal violence come from all directions, lending it the label of a horror-show. Still, if you’re observant of time; you’ll notice that the nastiness only really starts in the last twenty minutes of the movie, although it’s quite apparent that the film has been building up a whole lot of hatred and stark nihilism throughout the other eighty. Disturbing, pretty much from beginning to end, “The Woman” is perfect anti-entertainment; there wasn’t a moment that I can say I actually enjoyed watching it, although it drew me in more than half the films of last year even had the potential or chance to, and I’m mighty grateful for that. It’s directed with style, yes, but I think above all it should be admired and respected for the script; which shows great empathy and understanding for its characters, consistently messing with our perceptions of good and evil.
The Cleek family is an all-American one; a textbook example of their kind. They commute to their community, socialize within their home, and care for one another. And hey, look at that, even dad has a recreational pastime. The members of the Cleek household are father/husband Chris (Sean Bridgers), mother/wife Belle (Angela Bettis), adolescent son Brian (Zach Rand), young child Darlin (Shyla Molhusen), and teenage daughter Peggy (Lauren Ashley Carter). Every member of the family has their own issues: by the end we’re convinced that dad’s a psychopath, mother is genuinely weak and anything but strong-willed, son is quicker to ponder adulthood than most, and daughter is a depressed Goth Girl, minus the piercings. But these problems are just going to keep on stacking up upon one-another; as the biggest of big problems has yet to rear its ugly head.
Father – Chris – likes to hunt; and one night, he partakes in a rather eventful trip to the nearby woods. While scoping out potential prey with his weapon of choice, he spots a primitive woman (Pollyanna McIntosh) bathing in the creek. Entrapped by her alluring figure, Chris vows to return the next day and capture her, which he does. He then brings the woman home, has her hung by chains in the backyard cellar, and proceeds to devise a family-wide plan to properly “civilize” his discovery. She is underdeveloped, and cannot speak the English language like we do; instead communicating through aggressive snarls and peculiar teething methods (in a particularly gruesome scene, she bites Chris’s ring finger clean off). The women of the family disapprove of them keeping this “thing” in their basement; although it’s Brian who eventually sides with his old man, desperate to become on himself. In the next few days, we’ll witness the dark side of humanity; one character at a time.
Say you’ve got a weak stomach, and you cringe at the thought of films such as “Hostel” and “Saw”. If this is indeed the case, you definitely don’t want to be seeing “The Woman”; for it is the kind of movie that is relentless towards personal preference or feeling. I mentioned earlier that it’s only terribly bloody in its final moments, and I stick to my word, but there’s an ever-building sense of dread throughout (not to mention some absolutely disgusting scenes in which Chris feeds the woman) that makes the film incredibly disturbing. It’s a difficult watch, and it’s generated some controversy over “misogynistic themes”, but I object. In my eyes, it’s a strictly feminist film; and if it’s cynical towards any group of people, it’s humanity as a whole. The film is not selective of gender, race, or social class; it tells a story in which just about everyone is evil, depending on your definition of the term.
A lot of people who see this movie are going to either hate it or love it. Nevertheless, you probably won’t enjoy it. “The Woman” is not entertainment, but at the same time, it’s not offensive or particularly exploitative either. Through dark humor and tense horrors, it creates scathing social commentary on those who we consider “normal” or “civilized”. Its themes and messages have been done before, yes, but most Hollywood movies would have either sugarcoated the ideas that it has on its mind, or they wouldn’t have dealt with them at all. This is a flawlessly acted, brilliantly directed art-house horror-drama with enough on its mind to engage and intrigue. It was ultimately compelling enough for me to care about its characters and resonate with its message. At this point, I don’t care what anyone says: this is a fantastic film, unpleasant and strange as it is.
“The Woman” was written and directed by Lucky McKee; a sequel to Jack Ketchum’s “Offspring”, which got an absolutely brainless film adaptation. McKee has once again startled and moved me simultaneously, just as he did with his darkly beautiful “May”, which was one of my favorite horror films of this past decade. “The Woman” once again proves that he has a voice; and it deserves to be heard. I can neither recommend nor discourage you from seeing the film; all I know is that I found it to be kind of brilliant. It got under my skin, it made me think a whole lot, and it’s not a cheap morality tale; you know, the kind that I feared it might have been. But McKee does not disappoint. He has a vision, and even if it’s an uncompromising and unforgiving one, he isn’t afraid of anything. He survived the criticism and backlashing that “The Woman” received after its initial screening at the Cannes Film Festival, and this is where the movie has brought him. Through repulsion and disgust, he evokes a much deeper sadness that lies beneath. I hope people will see and admire the film; although I would also expect they’d cease to enjoy it, for to do so would be shameless and perverse.
Wow, you can’t rate this film a “1″. How disappointing. Almost as disappointing as this utterly stupid movie was. The characters were completely unbelievable – by which I mean willing suspension of disbelief went right out the door on how hammy and ridiculous they were.
The story was lame, and the “big twist” near the end was the most idiotic of the stupidest twists ever conceived.
I’d love to rate this 1/10 but B-D apparently has such a hard on for it, 2 is as low as the meter will let me rate it.
i really liked The Woman..i think Jack Ketchum is pure genius and Lucky McKee did a great job bringing the book to life..i agree the score was a little off..the garage rock soundtrack just didnt seem to mesh with the dysfunctional story that was unfolding..the film was flat out disturbing as intended..
yeah the score SUCKED! every time a song came on i turned the music wayy down also the video cover design is a killer and not in a good way HOWEVER the movie itself is a GEM!
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“The Woman” is a sequel to the 2009 movie “Offspring” both of which are based on novels by Jack Ketchum. Both films are extremely brutal and push the limits of horror. “The Woman” is played by the talented and extremely dedicated Pollyanna McIntosh who was the leader of a pack of feral human cannibals that roamed the forests of the Northeastern Coast in “Offspring”. She was the only one of her people to survive and a new chapter or her life is about to be written with “The Woman”.
We meet the Cleek family who live on a big country farm in a small east coast town. Chris is a lawyer with a small practice, his wife Bella is played by genre favorite Angela Bettis. Chris rules his family with strong sense of discipline, while Bella is very meek and unable to fully confront her domineering husband. While out hunting Chris observes a curious sight. A dirty feral woman bathing in a river, he is transfixed and hatches a plan.
Peggy and Brian are their teenage kids who also having another five year old sister who is just referred to as “Darlin’”. Peggy is very quiet and withdrawn from her other classmates as something seems to be deeply troubling her. Brian seems to idolized his douche bag of a father and does what ever is told of him probably as a sort of coping mechanism. There is always this uneasy sense and anxiety that exist within their house. Something is going on here but what? Director Lucky McKee and his crew make great use of sound to really drive home the emotion and intensity of each scene.
Chris takes it upon himself to clean and civilize this Woman no matter the cost. He captures her and strings her up in the family cellar. She is a primal vicious beast of a woman, but she is being held captive, so yeah I’d be a little pissed off too. When Chris’s hand gets a little to close she bites off a finger and swallows it only to spit out his wedding band. Chris brings in the whole family into his obsessive and demeaning little project. He tortures and humiliates the Woman all under the guise of domesticating her. It feels like Chris has gotten tired of holding his own family prisoners over the years and now wants a new challenge. Everybody except Brian are utterly repulsed and against his actions, but feel powerless to do anything about it. It is quite disturbing to see Brian’s transformation into a younger and possibly more destructive version of his dad. When certain event’s finally hit their boiling points and secrets are revealed Peggy literally releases the beast and the Woman has her bloody vengeance.
The story line bares a resemblance to a previous Jack Ketchum novel turned movie called “The Girl Next Door” which I have also reviewed. “The Woman” has been called by some as misogynistic and pure trash as all the women are subjected to extreme psychological and physical torture by the men. A lot of what has been said seems to reflect the views of the original 1978 film “I Spit on Your Grave” which was really more of a feminist approach. She takes control of herself and the situation without the help of a man. Overall “The Woman” will only appeal to a hardcore group of horror fans who seek it out. Its available on DVD as part of the Bloody Disgusting Selects Series.
Very cool movie.If you have have a woman you must watch it with her.It blew my wife away.
I did not care for The Offspring and I don’t care much about Ketchum either but this movie was one of the best horror films I saw in 2011. The creepy family made this movie for me. I loved the misogynistic and sadistic nature of the father and son and the woman herself kind of embodied feminism if feminism were cannibalism. The gore was great and there was never a dull moment. Great ending to a great film.
Nope. Fuck this movie.
*applauds with astounding approval*
WHOAH AMAZING! AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH just watched this AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!