Excision Written and Directed by Richard Bates Jr. On DVD

 

   Excision is a film based on an 18 year old high school student named Pauline, played by AnnaLynne McCord of  90210 fame. She's a fairly normal teenage girl, other than the fact that she's completely delusional and has a strong fascination with blood. Pauline is an outcast, both at school and at home. Her younger sister, Grace, has cystic fibrosis, and is the perfect child in her mother's eyes. Pauline is in a constant battle for her place in the world, and often goes to great heights to achieve some sort of attention. The director made a conscious choice to make-under McCord, who for most of the movie has unbrushed hair, and extreme acne. The film also has cut scenes, where Pauline is dreaming about becoming a surgeon. Most of the dreams are twisted fantasies about her performing surgery while making out with two women, or climbing over dead bodies as she makes her way to a bathtub full of blood. It's interesting to watch Pauline grow more and more comfortable with her dreams. She becomes more self aware, and seemingly more confident in herself.

   The overall premise of the film is Pauline's inability to overcome her own delusions and the spiral it sends her through. There are some pretty intense sequences where Pauline's obsession with blood comes into play, and they make for very interesting viewing. I will only bring up one instance, because I don't want to ruin the entire movie for everyone. When Pauline in on her period, she decides to pull out her tampon and inspect it. The scene had me squirming, because I didn't know what she was going to do with it!
   The last 35 minutes of the film are the best part, so if you decide to watch, make sure you watch it all the way through. It's a movie worth watching, especially if you know someone who has a personality disorder, or severe delusions. The film, as a whole, is somewhat heartbreaking. Every one knows at least one Pauline in their time on this earth, and it's painful to watch her struggle so hard to just be normal. I will say this, at first I didn't want to see this movie because McCord was the lead character, and her acting abilities have never been her strong point. After watching her play Pauline, I have a new found respect for her as an actress. She dug deep to play this character and it really paid off. I hope you enjoy this film as much as I did.