A disturbed and delusional high school student with aspirations of a career in medicine (AnnaLynne McCord) goes to extremes to earn the approval of her controlling mother (Traci Lords).
Looking at the cover of this movie, you would get the impression they are trying to sell it by the cast. There are many names listed on the cover -- far more than necessary. And the fact that Ray Wise, Malcolm McDowell and Traci Lords all appear should be enough to make any genre fan curious. I can confidently say, however, that this film stands on its own without the familiar names (though Lords plays a fairly big role).
Everyone involved did a great job making McCord look socially awkward and physically appear to be the daughter of Hilary Swank and the Geico caveman. I have not seen "90210", but I am willing to bet she does not normally look like a stringy-haired, ape-armed freak. (Or maybe Beverly Hills is full of that... what do I know?)
In some ways, I feel the film takes a cue from Lucky McKee's "May". We definitely have the awkward girl who wants to be with the popular guy, and the attraction to medical / surgical things. But the films are so different, it would be unfair to say this film is not its own animal. The medical theme is taken much, much farther, and McCord/Pauline is far more wild and untamed than Angela Bettis.
The dream sequences seal this film's creepy factor. People in bandages crawling over each other? Surgery being done, body parts removed... the C-section birth of a human head. And just including a bloody tampon in the film made it nasty enough.
Is Pauline truly crazy or just acting out? That is a question that remains unclear through the bulk of the film, but by the end you may be able to decide one way or the other. The final scene is indeed a tragic one -- we see what happens when some feels love for another but does not have the ability to respond to it appropriately.
Looking at the cover of this movie, you would get the impression they are trying to sell it by the cast. There are many names listed on the cover -- far more than necessary. And the fact that Ray Wise, Malcolm McDowell and Traci Lords all appear should be enough to make any genre fan curious. I can confidently say, however, that this film stands on its own without the familiar names (though Lords plays a fairly big role).
Everyone involved did a great job making McCord look socially awkward and physically appear to be the daughter of Hilary Swank and the Geico caveman. I have not seen "90210", but I am willing to bet she does not normally look like a stringy-haired, ape-armed freak. (Or maybe Beverly Hills is full of that... what do I know?)
In some ways, I feel the film takes a cue from Lucky McKee's "May". We definitely have the awkward girl who wants to be with the popular guy, and the attraction to medical / surgical things. But the films are so different, it would be unfair to say this film is not its own animal. The medical theme is taken much, much farther, and McCord/Pauline is far more wild and untamed than Angela Bettis.
The dream sequences seal this film's creepy factor. People in bandages crawling over each other? Surgery being done, body parts removed... the C-section birth of a human head. And just including a bloody tampon in the film made it nasty enough.
Is Pauline truly crazy or just acting out? That is a question that remains unclear through the bulk of the film, but by the end you may be able to decide one way or the other. The final scene is indeed a tragic one -- we see what happens when some feels love for another but does not have the ability to respond to it appropriately.