Tag Archives: Teeth

Monstrous Mammaries: The Relationship Between Breasts and Horror

“What’s the point? They’re all the same. Some stupid killer stalking some big-breasted girl who can’t act, who is always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door. It’s insulting.” – Sidney Prescott, Scream (1996).

The first time I ever saw breasts belonging to someone that wasn’t related to me was Sandy Johnson as Judith Myers in the opening scene of Halloween. Before the age of the internet, horror movies were likely responsible for most of society’s introduction to the naked form—specifically, the naked form of a cisgender woman. So the sight of a nude or topless woman makes complete thematic sense in the world of a horror movie.

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Nudity has existed in movies since the silent film era, but Western society has sexualized the female breast to the point where it serves as a form of currency. Horror as a genre is so much more than breasts and blood, yet it would be dishonest and insincere to act as if the role of breasts has not been pivotal to the success of the genre. So why are we so afraid to talk about it?

Nudity and Slashers

At the height of the slasher craze, Roger Ebert famously scorned horror’s use of bare bodies. “The nudity is always gratuitous,“ he complained, adding that nudity “is put in to titillate the audience, and women who dress this way or merely uncover their bodies are somehow asking for trouble and somehow deserve the trouble they get. That’s a sick idea.” For the most part, Ebert was right. Whereas the lesbian vampire and exploitation craze of the 1970s embraced and praised nudity, slasher films of the Reagan era punished them for expressing it.

The slasher boom was profitable, and it set up a formula for success that many filmmakers are still using today, either by leaning into the conventions or subverting them. Hell, the requirement of exposing breasts is a plot point in The Cabin in the Woods; multiple websites exist as a database of all instances of nude scenes in horror movies. 

Even “elevated” horror—a newer categorization that elicits a 14-tweet Twitter thread whenever it’s mentioned—is just a way for studios to purge this “tits and torture” reputation from the minds of casual moviegoers who still view the genre through the lens of the slasher boom of the 1980s. But breasts are such a staple in the genre that whole scenes—and in one instance, an entire film—exist specifically to buck the expectations of what it means to see bare breasts in a horror movie.

Nudity and Subversive Horror

One of the most notable examples comes to us from Night of the Demons, in which Linnea Quigley’s possessed Suzanne draws all over her face and chest with lipstick, only to insert the makeup directly through her nipple and into her body. One of the first shots of the movie is on Suzanne using her “womanly wiles” to get what she wants at a convenience store, knowingly flashing her panties from underneath her costume. She spends the entire movie pre-possession trying to titillate the audience—but her sexual prowess is manipulated into something horrific after her demonic possession.

The sequel Night of the Demons 2: Angela’s Revenge would take it a step further, as an unsuspecting horn dog tries to cop a feel on Shirley’s bare breasts, only for each breast to magically turn into hands that grab him right back, like a chesty version of the threat of vagina dentata in Teeth.

While we’re on the subject of sex organs having teeth where they don’t belong, the independent 2015 film Killer Rack tells the story of a Lovecraftian plastic surgeon who performs breast enhancement surgery on an unsuspecting patient. Unfortunately, one victim soon discovers that her new chest is hellbent on world domination. Try to go to second base? Your hand is likely getting bitten off. Stare a little bit too long? You’re lunchmeat, pal. But whereas something like Teeth is considered genuinely scary despite its tongue-in-cheek humor, Killer Rack is a screwball comedy based on premise alone. 

Breasts are sexualized, but they’re also a frequent source of physical comedy. (I’m looking at you, Fembots in Austin Powers or rock-hard implants in Mean Girls.) Parody films like Scary Movie include stabbing Carmen Electra in the breast and removing silicone implants, or there’s Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead, where a woman has her implants removed and presented to her. These women continue to be punished for others’ objectification of their bodies, but this time it’s done for laughs.

The Future of Breasts (in Horror)

As a woman with a requires-custom-made-bras cup size, I have an innate relationship with the way breasts have been presented in horror because it has genuinely impacted how I feel about my own body. I spent many years feeling a lot of shame about something I had no control over. Many people have learned “big boobs = dumb” or “big boobs = immoral and deserving of death” from movies. These people then let that incorrect assumption influence how they treat people in real life. I always feel an extra layer of sadness when Tatum dies in Scream, knowing that I too would die in a doggy door hoisted by my own titty petard.

Regardless of horror’s history with breasts, sex and nudity are disappearing from cinema, horror included. Many assume this change is an act of progress and a lack of exploitation, but perhaps this is merely a sign of the return of Puritanism. Horror no longer needs to rely on a cheap “pop of the top” to garner attention, which has luckily led to fascinating explorations of horror and sexuality in films like Titane or Possessor. No matter your personal feelings on the validity or necessity of bare breasts in horror, it’s undeniable that the genre’s longevity is at least partly due to freeing the nipple.

Mitchell Lichtenstein’s ‘Teeth’ Is a Movie for the Dentata-Positive Among Us

In a genre typically considered “for the guys,” it’s time to give a nod to the ladies. Uterus Horror is a subgenre of horror films that focuses on the uniquely female experience of puberty and the act of coming into your sexuality, using horror elements to emphasize and/or act as a metaphor for that experience. These films are often ignored in theaters but quickly develop cult followings. Columnist Molly Henery, who named and defined the subgenre, tackles a new film each month and analyzes how it fits into this bloody new corner of horror.

In September, we rocked out by exploring the convergence of trauma and sexuality in Slumber Party Massacre II. For October, given that this is the spookiest time of the year, we wanted to give you all something special for #Hallowiener. That means we’re going to talk all about the Uterus Horror film that might feature the most wieners, albeit severed ones, Teeth. 

This 2007 indie darling was the feature-film debut of writer and director Mitchell Lichtenstein (Happy Tears, Angelica). The film follows Dawn (Jess Weixler), a high school student who has made a promise to God that she will remain a virgin until marriage. After a sexual assault, she discovers there is something inside her acting as a defense mechanism. This results in a slew of severed penises as Dawn discovers her own body and the power she possesses. 

While there are people in the world who mirror the personas depicted, for the most part, each character is an exaggerated caricature. Dawn O’Keefe is so pure and virginal that she has never even wondered what female anatomy looks like, let alone glanced at her own genitalia. The school allows textbooks to show only male anatomy and the teacher is incapable of saying the word “vagina.” Then there are the men Dawn encounters. With the exception of her stepfather, all of the men in the film are predatory. 

Dawn meets her first crush, Tobey (Hale Appleman), who also made a vow of abstinence. Yet he attempts to sexually assault Dawn, which triggers her internal defenses: vagina dentata. Her vagina takes a bite out of her attacker, leaving him to bleed out, penisless. With each subsequent encounter, Dawn leaves a trail of severed penises as she learns more about her body, both as a woman and as someone with a unique adaptation.

Throughout Teeth, the origin of Dawn’s vagina dentata is kept a mystery. It could be a mutation caused by the nuclear power plant always looming in the background by her house. It could be a natural step in the evolution of female humans in response to the threat of men. Or, it could be an ancient myth come to life. One thing we as the audience know is that this adaptation is something Dawn has had her entire life, although she doesn’t learn about it until she’s a teenager. 

The events of Teeth allow this film to fall into the Uterus Horror subgenre not just because it’s about a young woman’s genitalia, but because of the deeper meaning behind the plot. I’ve stated on many occasions that I chose to call this subgenre “Uterus Horror” because I knew it would be a term with the ability to make men uncomfortable. Many men have an inherent fear of female genitalia and female sexuality. This is a common theme throughout Teeth.  

After Dawn’s encounter with Tobey, she researches what could be wrong with her. She finds a website that details the myth of vagina dentata. It reads, “The hero must do battle with the woman, the toothed creature, and break her power.” It goes on to explain that these myths are born of a primitive male fear of female sexuality. Because Dawn has embraced a strict Christian, abstinence-only way of life, she believes her next step is to find a “hero” to save her (rather than her saving herself).

Dawn even meets someone she believes is the hero of her story, only for him to be less than gentlemanly. This is how Dawn learns she can control her vagina dentata. Up until this point, her teeth were activated during sexual assaults. With her “hero,” the sexual encounter starts out pleasurable, so her teeth never chomp down. She thinks her vagina dentata has been vanquished, until her feelings of anger and betrayal sever yet another penis. 

Dawn then understands the power of her sexuality. She knows sex is a natural, pleasurable thing, as long as it is on her terms. She also knows she has complete control over her vagina dentata and can use it to her benefit. As we saw in other Uterus Horror movies like Carrie and Raw, Teeth conveys how empowering understanding yourself can be, and how strong young women become when they’re able to harness their sexuality on their terms.

Here’s where Teeth veers closer to a superhero or vigilante origin story. Dawn decides to get revenge on her demented stepbrother, Brad (John Hensley), after his negligence leads to the death of Dawn’s mother. Brad is the epitome of a man afraid of female sexuality. He even refuses to have vaginal sex with a woman, instead favoring anal sex because of his deep, subconscious childhood memory of Dawn’s vagina dentata. Yet his desire for Dawn is too strong, and she convinces him to have sex with her. Unfortunately for him, he realizes the truth too late and loses his penis as a result. After that, it is strongly implied that Dawn goes on the run and continues her life using her sexuality, and her teeth, to better the world by biting off the penises of evil men (and I, for one, would have watched a franchise based on that premise). 

As we commonly see with Uterus Horror films, Teeth was generally well regarded by film critics, but was not beloved by audiences at the time of its release. Rotten Tomatoes currently has the film at an 80% Tomatometer score and only a 45% Audience Score. While I couldn’t find a definitive number for the film’s budget, Wikipedia lists it as $2 million. Teeth barely made that amount back, grossing $2.34 million worldwide, only $347,578 of that in the US box office according to IMDb. The film did fairly well on the film festival circuit, earning multiple nominations and two award wins. A special jury prize for dramatic performance went to Jess Weixler at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival; the film also won the special jury prize at the 2008 Gérardmer Film Festival. 

Teeth takes a very in-your-face approach to Uterus Horror. It doesn’t hold back as it uses exaggerated characters and situations to show how men have historically feared not only female genitalia, but the power a woman holds when she is in control of her sexuality. Lichtenstein throws our heroine, Dawn, into extreme situations to have her quickly go from unaware, innocent virgin to a strong, powerful, feminine being. This is why Teeth has become a beloved film among horror fans, especially women who adore the genre; it is quintessential Uterus Horror that lets young women know they can, and should, be in control of their bodies, and that control makes them the hero of their own stories, leaving a trail of severed penises in their wake.

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https://youtu.be/J-qd-k0Vg7s

The Evolution of Male Nudity in Rape Revenge Films

The rape revenge genre is known for its sexual violence and exploitation of the female body. Women are brutalized by groups of strange men, who rape and beat victims during excruciatingly long sequences. Importantly, these female protagonists are often shown fully nude, letting viewers take in their entire bodies, ogling their bare breasts and pubic hair. What there isn’t is naked men.

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Even when the wronged woman gets revenge, her rapists are typically given some semblance of modesty whether through clothing or the suds of a bubble bath. Male nudity has been explicitly avoided for decades. But a shift is upon us. From I Spit On Your Grave to Teeth to Revenge, directors tackling the subgenre have moved away from continued exploitation of the female body and instead switched to objectifying the male form. The ever-present male gaze is being questioned.

The Origins of Rape-Revenge

Let’s start at the beginning with Meir Zarchi’s 1978 film I Spit On Your Grave, often called the most controversial film of all time. It earns that epithet as a young writer from the city named Jennifer Hills (Camille Keaton) becomes the target of a group of local boys. About 50 percent of the film’s runtime is dedicated to her torture, rape, and humiliation. Her clothes are ripped off, leaving her naked body to be smashed against a giant rock in the woods. Jennifer is exploited and treated like a piece of meat for both the characters and the viewer.

While Zarchi may not have intended to create enjoyment in these horrific sequences, audiences were still reported cheering for her rape and were excited at the idea of this city girl getting what she deserved. In exposing her entire body, Jennifer is exposing herself to the entire world to be leered at, consumed, and mocked.

As expected in this two-pronged subgenre, Jennifer does get to enact her delicious revenge, from hangings to the castration of the gang’s leader. However, even in the film’s climactic castration, her rapist Johnny is still given a veil of privacy as his penis is hidden under the water. While the viewer was allowed to openly look at Jennifer,  Johnny’s own body is kept from the camera, as if prioritizing and maintaining male modesty.

Jennifer does castrate him in the bathtub and reclaims her power, destroying the very thing that violated her. But in reducing the graphic spectacle around the moment, men are protected from actually seeing that violence. While Jennifer’s rape is very explicitly shown over a prolonged period of time, her rapist’s castration happens in a matter of seconds. Here a statement is subconsciously made about whose bodies are meant to be the true objects of the male gaze.

Change in the New Century

Several decades and hundreds of exploitation films later, a shift begins in the late 00s with Mitchell Lichtenstein’s 2007 film, Teeth. While perhaps not a traditional rape-revenge film, Lichenstein creates a play on the subgenre as a devout and abstinent Christian girl, Dawn (Jenn Wexler), is forced to reckon with her sexuality.

Dawn is molested as a child and raped as a teenager, and her body reflexively fights back with a special adaptation called vagina dentata, or a toothed vagina. When she is forced to have sex or be penetrated, she shows her teeth, literally, to punish those who violate her. The punishment is not just a little scratch — it’s complete penile removal.

Unlike the covert castration of I Spit On Your Grave, nothing is left to the imagination. Severed penises are shown laying on the ground while men are screaming, covered in their own blood. As Dawn begins to understand her body, she begins to understand her power and what she can do with vagina dentata.

Again, like in I Spit On Your Grave, there is a climactic castration as Dawn voluntarily removes the penis of her stepbrother who molested her as a child. At this moment, she is in full control of both herself and her stepbrother. She is no longer afraid as she is shown dropping his penis onto the floor. With a satisfying thump, Dawn is no longer someone to be manipulated.

The sexuality she was so afraid of becomes her way to exert control over her life and her body. While she is shown getting sexually assaulted, Dawn is never shown nude, as the nudity pendulum swings drastically in the other direction. Her body is chaste and hidden, while she spits out dismembered members from her vagina.

The male body is visibly disfigured as the camera makes sure to capture close-ups of the detached genitalia lying on dirty floors. However, the naked male body is also never filmed to be objectified or to indicate a switch in the gaze. It is about the separated body part more than showing the male body. Regardless, men are rendered vulnerable. That perceived object of fleshy power is thrown away like trash, just as men throw away women’s bodies.

The Male Body as Spectacle

Then comes Revenge, Coralie Fargeat’s 2017 vision of rape-revenge that works to acknowledge then refute the male gaze. That pendulum of nudity is swinging back again, but not towards the extremes of I Spit On Your Grave. Rather, Fargeat does not make the ruined penis the object of our attention. She ruins the entire male body, in full-frontal views. 

Fargeat knows exactly what she wants to achieve as she manipulates both the camera and the audience to look in specific ways. She does not outright reject the male gaze, but uses it to trick the viewer. The character Jen (Matilda Lutz) is filmed like a sex object, enticing someone to believe she is just something to be looked at. From close-ups on her exposed skin to her seductively licking a lollipop, Jen is established as a Lolita character with an open mouth.

But just as a prickly tree pierces Jen’s flesh, Fargeat shoves her cinematic fingers into our eyes. This woman is not a sexualized body, but an agent of violence in the name of justice. While Teeth worked to hide Dawn’s body, Revenge is all about showing off the bodies of both men and women. This way, the viewer can better understand the gendered expectations of nudity in rape-revenge. 

Once again, the use of male nudity is prominent in the film’s climax, although this does not include castration. Instead, the naked male body of Jen’s boyfriend Richard (Kevin Janssens) is placed on a level playing field with Jen. The power dynamic between the two of them has been stripped away as both are mostly or completely nude. Their standoff becomes the most basic confrontation of who can catch the other and who can shoot faster.

Caught by surprise, in his birthday suit, Richard is now objectified. The exploitative and well-known male gaze is replaced with a new way of seeing as the camera visually devours his muscular body. At the end of Revenge, no longer is the ruined female body the object of attention; the male body now becomes the spectacle.

Conclusion

Importantly, all of these films – from I Spit On Your Grave and Revenge – are also seen as empowering and honest, never shying away from the horrors of rape and depicting survivors as broken victims. The exploitation of Jennifer Hills’ body is appreciated, never trying to hide the nightmare.

While I agree with that stance and find strength in the rape-revenge genre, there is no denying how the uses of nudity have evolved and challenged preconceived notions about who can be naked on screen. No longer is the traumatized female body meant to be an object of desire. It is finally perceived for what it is: a site of rage, violence, and strength.