American Mary (2012) - body horror for beginners

Title: American Mary

Year:2012

Director: Jen & Sylvia Soska

IMDb Score: 6.2/10

Personal score: 5/10

Summary: The allure of easy money sends Mary Mason, a medical student, into the world of underground surgeries which ends up leaving more marks on her than her so-called "freakish" clients

One-sentence review: If you want to get into body horror, but are still a bit squeamish, then this is the movie for you. 

Watch if:

• You're into body horror, body modification etc
• You prefer more thriller-flavored horror

Don't watch if: 

• Squeamish
• Triggered by mentions and/or depictions of SA

Review: As a disclaimer, I have to say that I didn't dislike the movie. It was quite solid. I don't understand why it's considered "horror", but I suppose that horror is subjective. Personally, I wouldn't classify pure body horror as... well, horror. And let's be honest: a person has the right to do what they want with and to their own body. So if they want body modifications that make some pompous old ladies clutch their pearls, then that's their business. I wouldn't say it's "horrifying" or scary - it is simply a personal choice and who are we to judge if someone wants copious amounts of plastic surgery to make themselves look like a cat or a reptile? It might not be my cup of tea, but it certainly doesn't make me feel horrified. 

But I digress. Despite the questionable "horror" tag, the movie itself is interesting enough to keep your attention. You understand where Mary is coming from, what makes her tick, how she finds herself in the situation she's in. You start rooting for her - or at least I did. You want her to succeed. However, the story seems a bit... disjointed at times. It's simply a series of events that have a very flimsy connection and I found myself questioning what the point of it all is. It feels like the movie's main goal is to simply shock us by showing us extreme body modifications and splatter and gore. It all feels a bit too much like a teenager trying to make themselves look edgy. 

Perhaps it is a me-issue, though. Truth to be told, one of my pet peeves is the use of sexual violence or sexual abuse as a plot device to justify why the female protagonist goes off the deep end. Somehow, so many directors can't fathom the idea that a woman can be violent, vengeful or depraved just because that's who they are. No, if a woman does something "psychotic" it has to be because of some sexual trauma they experienced some time in the past! Just once, I would like to see a female villain (or anti-hero?) who is a sick and twisted individual just because they were born like that. Well, there is one movie with a similar character that comes to mind (Excision). While I disliked that movie in general, I do appreciate that the main character was "crazy" just because that's who she was. No traumatic back story, no scenes of abuse or assault, just a girl with no empathy. 

I think that's what bothered me about American Mary the most. There were so many other ways the main character could have found her way into the world of extreme body modifications. There were so many ways you could have given layers to the character and made her a villain worth rooting for. The was so much that could have been done with the premise, but instead we got the boring old "SA makes the woman snap and do crazy things" trope that was completely unnecessary. It's just lazy. If we compare this movie to American Psycho (which is hard not to do, because of the name), then the lazy, uninspired use of SA becomes even more annoying. Patrick Bateman didn't have some traumatic backstory to justify why he became... what he was. He didn't need one. Somehow we all accepted that this was simply the way he was. So why couldn't American Mary be the same? 

Overall, the movie is entertaining enough and not as extreme with the body horror as one would think. The acting is alright and you find yourself rooting for the main character. However, this movie is a bit like Marilyn Manson - trying very hard to shock you and be edgy, while still being quite tame compared to some of the other stuff that's out there. Would I recommend it? Sure, if you've got nothing else to watch and want to explore the tamer side of body horror. But there are better entries into the genre out there. If I can make a recommendation: The Ugly Stepsister (2025). It's funny, dark, bloody and you will be grossed out while watching it. But for American Mary, you can find the trailer below.

Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHfR1Tg9z9o