American Mary

"Appearances are everything."

2013 1h 42m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 615

HorrorThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A young medical student struggling to pay tuition is drawn into the shady world of underground body-modification.

“Appearances are everything.”

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Cast

Katharine Isabelle
Mary Mason
Antonio Cupo
Billy Barker
Tristan Risk
Beatress Johnson
David Lovgren
Dr. Grant
Paula Lindberg
Ruby Realgirl
Clay St. Thomas
Dr. Walsh
John Emmet Tracy
Detective Dolor
Twan Holliday
Lance Delgreggo

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jen Soska
Writers: Sylvia Soska, Jen Soska
Languages: English
Countries: Canada

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 13 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jen Soska, shot by Brian Pearson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Peter Allen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Bruce MacKinnon shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Katharine Isabelle and Antonio Cupo and Tristan Risk carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Appearances are everything.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1959332 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jen Soska directs. Brian Pearson behind the camera. Peter Allen scores. Bruce MacKinnon cuts. Produced in Canada. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 13 years ago.
2Directed by Jen Soska, shot by Brian Pearson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Peter Allen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Bruce MacKinnon shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Katharine Isabelle and Antonio Cupo and Tristan Risk carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Appearances are everything.".
7IMDB entry: tt1959332 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 8 themes, including "amputation", "gore", "plastic surgery", "torture".

The technical file

Cinematography: Brian Pearson
Original score: Peter Allen
Editing: Bruce MacKinnon
Production design: Tony Devenyi
Costume design: Jayne Mabbott
Makeup / hair: Jennifer Latour
VFX supervisor: Tom Raycove
Stunt coordinator: Rob Hayter
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: American Mary (2013)

Also by

Jen Soska

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-03-01
★ 8/10
Caustic Cuttings. Some horror fans love it, others not so much, which where horror film fans are concerned comes as absolutely no surprise. So roll the dice and take your chance here then! American Mary is written and directed by Jen and Sylvia Soska. Katharine Isabelle (looking uncannily like Mary Elizabeth Winstead) stars as the titular Mary of the title. She's a medical student who during a cash crisis is lured to the underground world of surgeries not deemed as the norm in medical school circles... Hoo-hah! Get ready for sexual deviance, dismemberment, human splicing and a whole host of other things that are brilliantly caked in a caustic satirical sauce by the Soska girls. Imagery is strong, the aftertaste lasting as you enter at your own peril a world of repugnant beings masquerading as humans, of fetishists pushing the boundaries, it's noirville but not as we know it Jim. But always there's a pierced and bloody tongue prodding the cheek, even if the odd period of time spent in bizarro world fails to add up. Wonderful. Go Mary! Go Soska Girls! Just don't call on me any time soon, huh... 8/10

Production companies