It seems that lately whenever I see that a movie designated as a horror flick I shudder. Not from the prospect of the fearsome circumstances and abject terror that awaits but because it means sitting through yet another two hours of mindless bloodshed and torture. The genre has been degraded to its lowest possible form typically devoid of any shred of story line or character development. One effect this lamentable trend is the dilution of expectations of loyal fans of horror films. Anything that does not look like a training film for the Spanish Inquisition comes across as refreshing. A recent example of this is ‘The Woman’. Right off it has to be mentioned that this film is not without its share of gore or the infliction of pain but the difference is there was an honest attempt made to place these activities within the context of a scary story. A valid case can be made that this flick should be included on the torture porn list but there are some mitigating factors at work. It is reminiscent of the old summer campfire tales that were inherently gruesome but the fear that is generated is done so by weaving a mental image that is frightening. There is an honest attempt made to temper the excesses in pain and bloodshed with the inclusion of social commentary. Albeit, it is an intense and frequently explicit road taken but the bottom line is McKee did strive to retain a greater psychological component than is typical found in the traditional torture flick.

A movie like ‘The Woman’ takes a story suitable for such a venue and realizes it on the screen. The blood, pain and terror are punctuation marks in the overall narrative of the story. The filmmaker, Lucky McKee, realizes that the best way to craft a scary story is through the slow build up of a psychologically terrifying set of circumstances. A gut with a chain saw hacking a teenager apart will affect the audience on a visceral level that will fade shortly after the credits roll and the lights come up. In this film a regular sort of man comes across a feral woman who becomes an escalating threat to his family. Ultimately this comes down to a very familiar trope that happens to be a personal favorite, a reasonable man pushed beyond any rational behavior. It takes a certain touch to pull off a technique like this and fortunately for us Me. McKee has it. The film is stylistically well constructed with a cast that has made a notable mark in the genre. The movie is far too intense for a family popcorn flick but is a solid contender for a mature fright night at home with friends.

Chris Cleek (Sean Bridgers) is a man devoted to his family. His suburban legal practice is modest but reasonably successful. His family consists of his wife, Belle (Angela Bettis), teenage son Brian ((Zach Rand) and daughters Peggy (Lauren Ashley Carter) and Darlin’ (Shyla Molhusen). This family dynamic sets the base line for what will be considered normal civilized behavior. The foundation is necessary in order to set up the situation crucial to establishing the main theme driving the movie. The equilibrium is disrupted when Dad happens across a feral woman (Pollyanna McIntosh). Chris captures her and imprisons her ostensibly to help socialize her but there are some hidden elements covertly lurking in his motivation. There is a sadistic misogyny permeating Chris’ personality that is triggered by chain the barely human creature in his shed. His control issue surface as he brings his family to see his prisoner. Nothing like show the wife and kids the filthy dirty, half dressed woman you caught in the woods and dragged home to make for family memories. He tries to justify his actions with an excuse that was used on a global scale during the height of colonial expansion in Europe; it is the obligation of good, civilized people to teach savages how to behave. It did work out too well back then and on this microcosm scale it is an abject failure. It turns out that the woman is the last of a tribe of savage mountain folk completely isolated from humanity. She is capable of tracking and killing animals, grabbing fish from a stream and, when the opportunity avails itself, cannibalism. Part of what I found interesting is how McKee juxtaposed the women in the film demonstrating the inherent personality flaws of Chris. On the surface he seems like a good husband opening doors for his wife and polite affect but he is a control freak and ultimately demeaning to his wife and daughters. The appearance of the woman affords Chris the unhampered chance to train a woman properly, in his image of how a woman should behave. If the woman fails to act in a fashion approved of by Chris will illicit quick often brutal consequences he refers to as ‘corrections’. The son is caught between watch the brutality exhibited by his father and the natural reaction a boy that age has towards a half naked woman.

Ultimately McKee demonstrates the true savage is Chris. The woman reacts violently but it is like poking a bear with a sharp stick, you get what you asked for. Both the woman and Chris are brutal by nature it is just Chris hides his true inclinations behind a veneer of socialization. McKee has some notable experience in the genre. He worked with Ms Bettis previously in an equally bizarre horror movie ‘May’ and a strange episode of ‘Masters of Horror’. His style is to coax terror out of mundane circumstances taking the familiar off to extremes. He tends to let things simmer allowing the audience an opportunity to acclimate to the circumstances before he turns everything upside down, this film is a dark, raw consideration of the brutality that can exist under the skin of a so called regular. Chins is a hypocrite on every conceivable level. As a lawyer he is an officer of the court sworn to uphold the lae but he thinks nothing of kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and torture. While you’re at it you might as well throw in emotional spousal and child abuse. The woman is the only character here true to her nature.