CONFIGURATIONS OF BODY HORROR IN AMERICAN MARY (2012)

Resumo

American Mary (2012) is a film directed by the Canadian sisters Jen and Sylvia Soska. It is centered upon the body as a locus where horror dwells. On the one hand, Mary’s body itself constitutes a repository for myth: she is a metaphorical vampire and she can also be said to give life to the legend of Bloody Mary. On the other hand, the bodies that Mary radically modifies in the sequence of her surgeries operate within the cinematic narrative as real monstrous creations, in the sense that they inform a kind of corporeality that is deviant with reference to the acceptable social patterns. In this way, Mary can be said to incorporate a female version of Mary Shelley’s character, Victor Frankenstein. Therefore, the body is explored in an urban and violent environment, within a hybrid context where several horror subgenres co-exist: slasher, torture porn, surgical, and rape-revenge. All these aspects require a reflection regarding the female protagonist and potentiate a redefinition of the concept of the final girl.