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American Mary

Play trailer Poster for American Mary R Released May 31, 2013 1h 43m Horror Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
61% Tomatometer 51 Reviews 53% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Mary Mason (Katharine Isabelle) is lured into a world of freakish surgeries for easy money.
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American Mary

American Mary

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Critics Consensus

It suffers a bit from some uneven acting and an underwhelming climax, but American Mary utilizes pitch black humor and striking visuals to deliver gory, freaky thrills for body horror enthusiasts.

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Critics Reviews

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Bill Stamets Chicago Sun-Times Alt horror about a Seattle surgery drop-out is a mediocre specimen of the Canadian kinky flesh genre of "Antiviral," "Crash" and "Kissed." End credits say "For Eli Roth." Jun 27, 2013 Full Review Laura Kern Film Comment Magazine Sexy and delightfully deadpan, Katharine Isabelle absolutely kills it as loner med student Mary, so passionate about perfecting her surgical skills that she spends her evenings suturing turkey flesh. Jun 14, 2013 Full Review J. R. Jones Chicago Reader Writer-directors Jen and Sylvia Soska don't seem to have their material completely under control, but they've created a worthy entry in the Freaks school of cult cinema. May 31, 2013 Full Review Trace Thurman Horror Queers Podcast The messaging gets a bit muddled in the second half, but American Mary offers plenty for viewers to chew on. Rated: 3.5/5 Jan 19, 2022 Full Review Joe Lipsett Horror Queers Podcast While the film is ultimately stronger in its first half, American Mary is a showcase for Isabelle's talent and an intriguing consideration of the body mod community. One only wishes the Soskas were a little sharper with their messaging Rated: 3.5/5 Jan 14, 2022 Full Review Emma Wolfe SpookyAstronauts I was very dazzled by the freakish nature. Rated: 7/10 Apr 14, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (391) audience reviews
Wayne K While American Mary may be uneven in places in terms of performance, writing and tone, it starts off on solid footing, giving us a protagonist who’s passionate about what she does but lacks the ability to live within her means, taking desperate and increasingly dangerous risks to stay afloat. There’s some real standout scenes, such as the surgical procedures done with practical effects, or the morning after a brutal assault that’s not brushed off or treated in a trivial manner. There’s some over the top performances, most of which feel in keeping with the tone, but some are just outlandish for the sake of it. The second half cant measure up to the first, as the film scrambles to push its premise further and further but just ends up repeating itself. I do admire how the filmmakers got actual members of the body modification community to participate, rather than just using cheap prosthetics or bad CGI. The film doesn’t really address why people seek treatments like this, especially with the inherent risks involved, but it does make for some striking visuals, and the allusions to Takashi Miike’s Audition are scattered throughout. The whole thing feels like a concept that never had time to be fully fleshed out, and as a result subplots such as the cop investigating the murders and disappearances comes and goes and never has any effect on the central storyline. It would have been great to see what the filmmakers could have come up with had they been given more time and increased budget, but what we got is still satisfying and interesting enough for me to recommend it. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 04/28/25 Full Review B P ‘American Mary’ Is Intentionally Sculpted Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 04/16/25 Full Review Mx S Awesome slice of gritty '00s horror. Katherine Isabelle is an unsung scream queen Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/25/24 Full Review Ricardo d Um ótimo filme de vingança, que dessa vez envolve uma estudante de medicina, e usa isso a la Dexter. Temos também a mistura de pessoas que gostam de mutilações corporais consensuais, um setor pouco explorado nos filmes. Me decepcionou o final do filme, torcia que tivesse uma continuação. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/29/24 Full Review nick s I'll give it credit for its slick camera and lighting work. Some of the support acting was a little hit and miss. But the story felt a little too absurd... wish they had toned it down and made it more realistic. Maybe a little less gore would have made the gory bits more pronounced.. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/04/24 Full Review Jeffrey P The story is kinda loose and sloppy, but American Mary is a truly fascinating character in unordinary circumstances. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/11/23 Full Review Read all reviews
American Mary

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Movie Info

Synopsis Mary Mason (Katharine Isabelle) is lured into a world of freakish surgeries for easy money.
Director
Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska
Producer
John A. Curtis, Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska, Evan Tylor, Robyn Wiener
Screenwriter
Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska
Distributor
XLrator Media
Production Co
IndustryWorks Pictures
Rating
R (Sexual Content|A Rape|Aberrant Violent Content|Language|Brief Drug Use|Torture|Disturbing Images|Graphic Nudity)
Genre
Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 31, 2013, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 5, 2016
Runtime
1h 43m
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