Teeth is a
horrorHorror films are movies that strive to elicit the emotions of fear, horror and terror from viewers. Their plots frequently involve themes of death, the supernatural or mental illness...
-black comedy film written and directed by
Mitchell LichtensteinMitchell Wilson Lichtenstein is an American actor, writer, producer and director.In Ang Lee's film The Wedding Banquet , Lichtenstein played the partner of a gay Taiwanese man living in the United States who is forced to marry by his parents. Other credits include Streamers...
, about a teenage girl who has
teeth in her vaginaVagina dentata is Latin for toothed vagina. Various cultures have folk tales about women with toothed vaginas, frequently told as cautionary tales warning of the dangers of sex with strange women and to discourage the act of rape....
. It premiered January 19, 2007 at the
2007 Sundance Film FestivalThe 2007 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 18 until January 28, 2007 in Park City, Utah with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden, Utah. It was the 23-rd iteration of the Sundance Film Festival...
in the independent drama category. It was released on DVD in the United States on May 6, 2008, by
Dimension ExtremeDimension Extreme is a genre DVD label owned by The Weinstein Company. The majority of the films released are unrated horror films, although comedies and action films have been released occasionally as well.-Films:*13: Game of Death ...
.
Dawn O’Keefe (
Jess WeixlerJessica "Jess" Weixler is an American actress, best known to date as the lead in the comedy-horror film Teeth and the comedy The Big Bad Swim...
) is a teenage spokesperson for a Christian Abstinence group called The Promise. She attends groups with her two friends, Gwen (Julia Garro) and Phil (Adam Wagner).
Teeth is a
horrorHorror films are movies that strive to elicit the emotions of fear, horror and terror from viewers. Their plots frequently involve themes of death, the supernatural or mental illness...
-black comedy film written and directed by
Mitchell LichtensteinMitchell Wilson Lichtenstein is an American actor, writer, producer and director.In Ang Lee's film The Wedding Banquet , Lichtenstein played the partner of a gay Taiwanese man living in the United States who is forced to marry by his parents. Other credits include Streamers...
, about a teenage girl who has
teeth in her vaginaVagina dentata is Latin for toothed vagina. Various cultures have folk tales about women with toothed vaginas, frequently told as cautionary tales warning of the dangers of sex with strange women and to discourage the act of rape....
. It premiered January 19, 2007 at the
2007 Sundance Film FestivalThe 2007 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 18 until January 28, 2007 in Park City, Utah with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden, Utah. It was the 23-rd iteration of the Sundance Film Festival...
in the independent drama category. It was released on DVD in the United States on May 6, 2008, by
Dimension ExtremeDimension Extreme is a genre DVD label owned by The Weinstein Company. The majority of the films released are unrated horror films, although comedies and action films have been released occasionally as well.-Films:*13: Game of Death ...
.
Plot
Dawn O’Keefe (
Jess WeixlerJessica "Jess" Weixler is an American actress, best known to date as the lead in the comedy-horror film Teeth and the comedy The Big Bad Swim...
) is a teenage spokesperson for a Christian Abstinence group called The Promise. She attends groups with her two friends, Gwen (Julia Garro) and Phil (Adam Wagner). One evening after giving her speech talking about the
purity ringPurity rings originated in the United States in the 1990s among Christian-affiliated sexual abstinence groups...
those in the group wear and what it means, she is introduced to Tobey (
Hale ApplemanHale Isaac Appleman is an American actor best known for playing Tobey Cobb in the 2007 film Teeth.Appleman portrays Judd Winick in Pedro, Nick Oceano's 2008 film dramatizing the life of AIDS educator Pedro Zamora.-Credits:...
) and finds him attractive.
The four begin going out as a group, and Dawn has fantasies of marrying Tobey, although after acknowledging the attraction they agree that they cannot spend time together. Soon after they give in and meet at a local swimming hole. After swimming together, they go in to a
caveA cave or cavern is a natural underground void large enough for a human to enter. Some people suggest that the term cave should only apply to cavities that have some part that does not receive daylight; however, in popular usage, the term includes smaller spaces like sea caves, rock shelters, and...
to get warm and begin kissing. Tobey then
forces himselfRape, also referred to as sexual assault, is an assault by a person involving sexual intercourse with or without sexual penetration of another person without that person's consent....
on Dawn; in the panic her vagina bites off his penis. Horrified, he stumbles away and she flees the scene. After a Promise meeting, she meets her classmate Ryan (Ashley Springer) at a dance; they talk, and he drops her off at her home.
Dawn researches
Vagina dentataVagina dentata is Latin for toothed vagina. Various cultures have folk tales about women with toothed vaginas, frequently told as cautionary tales warning of the dangers of sex with strange women and to discourage the act of rape....
and realizes she may have it, then she visits a gynaecologist, Dr. Godfrey (
Josh PaisJosh Pais is an American actor of film and television.He has appeared in many Hollywood films, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as Raphael, Music of the Heart, Scream 3, It Runs in the Family, Little Manhattan and Find Me Guilty. He played Assistant M.E. Borak in 15 episodes of the series...
), in an attempt to find out what is happening to her. Finding out that she is a virgin, he attempts to take advantage of her by saying he is performing a test, when what he is really doing is molesting her. She panics, and her vagina bites off the fingers on his right hand. He screams “vagina dentata” in his pain. On her way back, she sees someone driving in Tobey's car, and she goes back to visit the pool. When she gets there she sees the police bringing up Tobey's body. At home, her ill mother, Kim O'Keefe (Vivienne Benesch), collapses, while Dawn's stepbrother, Brad (
John HensleyJohn Carter Hensley is an American actor best known for playing Matt McNamara on Nip/Tuck.John's parents divorced when he was 3 years old. He and his sister, spent time with both parents growing up....
), and his girlfriend, Melanie (Nicole Swahn), continue to have sex while she lies on the floor. Kim is taken to the hospital.
She goes to Ryan, seeking help for no one else will listen to her. The two successfully have sex. The following morning they have sex again, but mid-coitus Ryan’s friend calls, and Dawn learns that he had a wager on having sex with her. In her anger, her vagina bites off his penis, and she leaves him to call his mother for help.
Dawn learns her mother has died, and after her stepfather, Bill (
Lenny Von DohlenLenny Von Dohlen is an American film and stage actor, best known for his performance as Harold Smith in Twin Peaks and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me....
), attempts to throw Brad out, Brad sets his dog on Bill. Dawn meets her stepfather and Melanie at the hospital, and emboldened by her power, she goes back home to seek revenge. Dawn puts on make-up and goes to her stepbrother, and they engage in sex. In the middle of the act, Brad recalls when he was younger and his finger was bitten by Dawn, that it wasn’t her mouth that bit him. As he realizes this, Dawn’s vagina bites off his penis. She releases it on the ground, and Brad’s dog eats it, spitting out the
glansThe glans penis is the sensitive bulbous structure at the distal end of the penis. It is also commonly referred to as the "head" of the penis. Slang terms include "helmet", "nob" , and "bell end", and all refer to its distinctive shape. The glans penis is anatomically homologous to the clitoral...
and
Prince Albert piercingFor other uses of "Prince Albert", see Prince Albert The Prince Albert piercing is one of the more common male genital piercings. The PA pierces the penis from the outside of the frenulum and into the urethra...
. Dawn leaves him to bleed to death.
Dawn cycles away from home, but her bike sustains a puncture, so she begins
hitchhikingHitchhiking is a means of transportation that is gained by asking people, usually strangers, for a ride in their automobile or other road vehicle to travel a distance that may either be short or long. The latter may require many rides from different people; a ride is usually but not always free...
. She gets a lift from an old man (Doyle Carter), but when she reaches the next gas station and tries to get out, he locks the doors. He licks his lips as if to ask for a sexual favor to release her; Dawn hesitates, and then looks towards the camera with a seductive smile.
Cast
- Jess Weixler
Jessica "Jess" Weixler is an American actress, best known to date as the lead in the comedy-horror film Teeth and the comedy The Big Bad Swim...
as Dawn O'Keefe
- John Hensley
John Carter Hensley is an American actor best known for playing Matt McNamara on Nip/Tuck.John's parents divorced when he was 3 years old. He and his sister, spent time with both parents growing up....
as Brad Swanson O'Keefe
- Josh Pais
Josh Pais is an American actor of film and television.He has appeared in many Hollywood films, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as Raphael, Music of the Heart, Scream 3, It Runs in the Family, Little Manhattan and Find Me Guilty. He played Assistant M.E. Borak in 15 episodes of the series...
as Dr. Godfrey
- Hale Appleman
Hale Isaac Appleman is an American actor best known for playing Tobey Cobb in the 2007 film Teeth.Appleman portrays Judd Winick in Pedro, Nick Oceano's 2008 film dramatizing the life of AIDS educator Pedro Zamora.-Credits:...
as Tobey
- Lenny Von Dohlen
Lenny Von Dohlen is an American film and stage actor, best known for his performance as Harold Smith in Twin Peaks and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me....
as Bill O'Keefe
- Vivienne Benesch as Kim O'Keefe
- Ashley Springer
Ashley Springer is an American actor based in New York City whose screen credits include the critically acclaimed horror-black comedy film, Teeth , written and directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein, and Dare , directed by Adam Salky....
as Ryan
- Julia Garro as Gwen
- Nicole Swahn as Melanie
- Adam Wagner as Phil
- Doyle Carter as the old man
Release
The film premiered January 19, 2007 at the
2007 Sundance Film FestivalThe 2007 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 18 until January 28, 2007 in Park City, Utah with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden, Utah. It was the 23-rd iteration of the Sundance Film Festival...
.
It was also shown at the
- Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
,
- Nantucket Film Festival,
- Sydney
Sydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
International Film Festival,
- Melbourne International Film Festival
The Melbourne International Film Festival is an acclaimed annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1951, making it one of the oldest in the World....
,
- London FrightFest Film Festival
Fright Fest is an annual film festival held in central London over the August Bank Holiday weekend. The first event was held in the year 2000....
,
- Deauville
Deauville is a town and a commune in the Calvados département in the Basse-Normandie region of France. With its racecourse, harbour, international film festival, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino and sumptuous hotels, Deauville is regarded as the "queen of the Norman beaches"...
Festival of American Cinema,
- Hamptons International Film Festival
The Hamptons International Film Festival is a film festival that is held in the Long Island community of East Hampton.The festival was founded in 1993 to celebrate American Independent films - long, short, fiction and documentary - and to introduce a unique and varied spectrum of international...
,
- Auckland International Film Festival.
It opened in
limited releaseLimited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
in the United States on January 18, 2008. The film was released on DVD on May 6, 2008.
Critical reception
The film received mostly positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator
Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films. The name derives from the historical cliché of throwing tomatoes and other produce at stage performers if a performance was particularly bad.- History :...
reported that 81% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 59 reviews — with the consensus that the film is "smart, original, and horrifically funny."
MetacriticMetacritic is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported the film had an average score of 57 out of 100, based on 22 reviews.
Sundance
Reaction from the
2007 Sundance Film FestivalThe 2007 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 18 until January 28, 2007 in Park City, Utah with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden, Utah. It was the 23-rd iteration of the Sundance Film Festival...
was positive, with Cinematical critic Scott Weinberg saying, "
Teeth is precisely the sort of genre movie that we need to see more of."
Adrienne ShellyAdrienne Shelly , sometimes credited as Adrienne Shelley, was an American actress, director and screenwriter. Making her name in independent films such as 1989's The Unbelievable Truth and 1990's Trust, Shelly transitioned to a writing and directing career in subsequent years...
Foundation artistic director Mystelle Brabbée declared it "one of the most talked-about films at the Sundance Film Festival this year".
Jess Weixler won the Special Jury Prize for Dramatic Performance (and tied with Tamara Podemski from the film
Four Sheets to the Wind).
Additional awards
Weixler and Hensley were honored at
Spike TVSpike , a division of MTV Networks, is an American cable channel designed for an audience described demographically as "young adult males". The channel began life as The Nashville Network , founded by WSM, Inc...
's 2008
Scream AwardsThe Spike TV Scream Awards is an award show dedicated to the horror, sci-fi, and fantasy genres of feature films. The show was created by executive producers Michael Levitt, Cindy Levitt, and Casey Patterson.-2006 Nominees/Winners:...
. The pair won the award for "Most Memorable Mutilation" for "Penis Bitten Off By Vagina With Teeth"
External links