Customer Reviews

Woman [Blu-Ray]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The film opens with Pollyanna McIntosh as a feral woman. She has an injury to her side and hunts and kills a wolf. Her legs look pretty darn good for a person who has lived outdoors their entire life, not one scrape,scar, or even hair on the legs...and her armpits are shaved!

Sean Bridgers plays Chris Cleek, an unlikeable man of wealth. He sees our feral woman in the woods behind his house while out hunting. He has a mousey wife (Angela Bettis), a teen daughter, a son who has trouble with his free throws and a young daughter who likes to kiss boys to the horror of her mother. Sean Bridgers orders his family around who pretty much obey him, like zombies, without question.

He captures the wild woman, and rather than turn her over to the authorities, he chains her up in their basement/shed. He is very open about it and shows her to his family who are completely dumbfounded. Chris Cleek rules the roost and doesn't like to be questioned. He reminds me of a creepy Will Ferrell. Their task is to civilize the woman, a woman who wants no master.

The two older children Peg and Brian are portrayed as abnormally reclusive self imposed social outcasts, signs of an abnormal home life. We know this is true because of the lame indie music soundtrack that plays when they are on screen by themselves. Having a scantily clad female chained up around a teen boy brings about some natural curiosity tendencies.

The wife and older daughter feel like a prisoner, like the feral woman who symbolizes their imprisonment. Sean Bridges symbolizes the "system" which imprisons women. There are scenes showing violence to women that were hard to watch, even though we don't see the actual strikes, we see the arm movement and hear the blows.
The movie starts semi-normal, goes to odd, then downright weird as Sean Bridges fights to be the master of his world filled with rebellious women. Sean's son sides with him to give us the full symbolism of the battle of the sexes with men being aggressive controlling rapists and women the victim.

Many of the actors in this film are new to the industry. In spite of that, they did a solid job.

F-bomb, Full frontal nudity (Pollyanna McIntosh), rape, torture, blood, gore. While I give this movie 4 stars, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

THE WOMAN is sort of the rural-American version of CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST. It's all about human monsters amongst us. Pollyanna McIntosh plays the brutal / brutalized, title character so well that it's (refreshingly) disturbing! Watching her is like watching a wolf or tiger in captivity! She gives off a wildness like I've never seen before! Angela Bettis (MAY, TOOLBOX MURDERS) is excellent as the abused, emotionally-deadened spouse of the psychopathic husband (Sean Bridgers) who instigates most of the film's horror. The Cleeks are a seemingly normal family, until the layers of normalcy begin to chip, peel, and fall away completely! THE WOMAN is intense, unpredictable, and insane. A horrific marvel...

This is a truly disturbing movie and you would be hard pushed to find a more twisted and nasty character than Chris Creek, played brilliantly by Sean Bridges. This movie is heavy going and there aren't many Taboos that dont surface in it,cannabalism,incest,wife beating,child abduction and rape to name a few. Pollyanna McIntosh plays the feral woman and does an excellent job in this gripping movie that will leave you with an unpleasant taste in your mouth.

Thought the premise sounded interesting, and I was right. The only thing that surprised me was what a great villain Chris Cleek made. You love to hate him and end up rooting for "the woman"--or, really, the women. Also, I absolutely loved the soundtrack. I would have given this movie a higher score had the acting not been weak in some areas and the fact that it just overall reminded me too much of "The Girl Next Door," which Lucky McKee and Ketchum both had to do with, if I'm not mistaken. The ending also was a little too ridiculous, but horror movies can easily get away with that. One more thing--the makeup was ABSURD. They made a beautiful girl look absolutely disgusting, and I loved that.

I heard a lot about this movie being a "feminist film." I don't know if I would agree with that. Sure, it shows a strong female character, but what is the point other than the fact that she's strong-willed? I can understand some of the theories, especially with the ending (which I won't ruin), but still...I guess I need to read a good essay on this movie.

If you like a good gore movie that also centers around issues that we globally face today, I'd definitely recommend this movie. TRIGGER WARNING, AND POSSIBLE SPOILER: If you're not much for torture films or anything reminiscent of rape, domestic violence, verbal abuse, etc., please do not watch.

Written by Jack Ketchum, this would be situated after the events of OffSpring (Offspring- and no, these movies are not connected intentionally by directors, but they do share the same main character. It picks up with The woman wandering, alone, her children dead because of the child. She looks for shelter, has a dream of the kid, and begins making herself at home again. then the man enters. He, along with his wife, small child, older daughter and son, take her in to "civilize her." The problem is that the family is not civilized themselves, and the woman is not as weak as the man thinks she is.

First, this is really like the book. There are a few differences at the end, sequence wise, but the book plays out more like Ketchum's work than I thought it would. That says a lot both about the way the source material was written, about the realism, and about the things the actors did. In my mind, they really managed to capture these characters and transfer them to the 102 minute showing.

As far as a story, it can seem flawed in some ways. It simply picks up with a wild woman wandering the woods, and with this man finding her. That's not to say there isn't a lot of detail, but it seems disconnected as a stand alone film. As far as the woman goes, she seems incomplete. That's why I mentioned Offspring. Everything from the wound she has to the motivation she carries sits in that film, and it makes this more than understood. As far as the family goes, it is pretty complete except for one part. I do not want to spoil anything so I will only say the thing with the dogs to anyone who has seen it, noting that this piece just seems like another piece to say the man is not a good guy. I did like the oddity to it, but there was no "who" attached to it.

I'm giving it a 4 out of 5, noting I am a fan of Ketchum and enjoyed this as well. I might not have known it existed otherwise, but knowing and seeing - I'm happy with it. My friends who enjoy horror will enjoy it I'm sure, liking the way the family turns into a character study on a small scale with each of them until the end comes. Sometimes, in that respect, people are creepier than any monster that comes along. The woman is a thing in nature, roaming, doing her part. The man - you really have to ask what he might be.

thanks for your time, I hope this helps

The most original and Gut wrenching film of 2011. This is a must see for fans of Horror, Jack Ketchum, Lucky McKee & great films. Lucky McKee comes into his own with this one. Definitively his greatest effort thus far; proving he is one of the top horror/exploitation directors of this generation. Could technically be considered a sequel to The Offspring as both are from the Jack Ketchum Dead River book series. Both films star Pollyanna McIntosh, who in this film plays the woman to perfection. All around the cast is great. Sean Bridgers and Angela Bettis are both excellent additions to the cast. Sean Bridgers plays the misogynistic father & trust me you'll hate that bastard. Zach Rand; The little boy will leave you sickened, but that just proves how well his part is played. I highly recommend this movie. Spectacular finale with enough gore to satisfy the most jaded of horror fans. I'm buying the blu-ray for sure! The cinematography and scenery will look beautiful in high definition.

** This review contains spoilers. **

Chris Cleek is a seemingly normal family man and lawyer. His family seems perfect in every way with a loving wife, a successful son, and two obedient daughters. One day when hunting, he finds a feral, cannibalistic woman bathing in a lake. After forcing his family to prepare a space for her in the cellar, he captures her to civilize her and save her from her savage ways. His perfect facade crumbles as he "educates" the woman and the sick person inside emerges. With his perfection, the family's veneer also falls away, exposing his son's violent tendencies, his daughter's pregnancy, and his wife's complacency despite her anger and her abject horror at his actions. Who will be victorious: the savage woman or the civilized man? Who is the more monstrous?

I heard about The Woman during last year's Women in Horror Month and wasn't able to watch it until very recently. I expected to like it, but I was blown away by the film. I absolutely loved it especially because of the wonderful performances of the actors and the underlying message. Chris Cleek is a very creepy character. Gleefully sadistic, he is magnetic and repellent at the same time. He acts as the ideal patriarch of the ideal nuclear family who just happens to be insane, ruling his family with an iron fist. All the women in his life are cowed and fearful as a result of his mentality that women are inherently inferior to men, except for his youngest daughter. His wife, Belle, ignores his abuse to the detriment of her children and his daughter, Peggy, escapes into her music and books to cope with her pregnancy (most likely the product of incest). Even the women and girls seen in passing in their neighborhood are victimized and abused by men outside of the Cleek family, showing that this isn't an isolated incident. His son, Brian, on the other hand, is being groomed to be exactly like him. The process proved to be successful with his disturbing, budding serial killer behavior.

Based on this view of the family and the brutal treatment of the Woman, it's easy to just assume that it's propagating misogyny. At its core, The Woman examines women's roles in society and views women in a much more favorable light than it appears. The Woman is a strong character untouched by the influences of civilization. When faced with Chris, she is the only woman to fight back. After continued abuse and the fact that Chris wields superior weapons, the Woman backs down, but is never fully controlled. The minute she is released and catches Chris off guard, she kills him and his son brutally. This shows that misogyny and the idea of women as the weaker sex are conventions of society and not inherently true. Belle is the first person killed after she is released. Many people are upset by this because they feel sorry for her as a victim of her husband. However, I feel it was justified because she allowed her children to be abused and warped by her husband. By doing that, she is just as guilty as Chris, if not more so. She could have left with her kids or called the police long ago and she chose not to, allowing the abuse to continue for years. Also, Chris Cleek is shown to be more brutal and less civilized than the Woman, the only living member of a savage and cannibalistic tribe. His family dynamic calls into question the traditional patriarchal family unit, proving that nostalgia for the past is supporting this dynamic in reality and perpetuating abuse. The world that surrounds these characters supports misogyny as a part of everyday life, with the only exception being Peggy's math teacher, Miss Hindle. This aspect is a commentary on the atmosphere in our own society and how we are numb or blinded to the misogyny we are bombarded with every day.

The Woman is a commentary on how women are treated in our society in the present and the past. The film had a few surprising twists and turns, including showing Chris to be way more depraved than I thought, which is saying a lot. The ambiguous ending leaves just enough to the imagination and also leaves the story open for another installment. I really like this film and hope Lucky McKee and Jack Ketchum work together on other projects in the future. I would recommend this to people looking for a challenging, thought provoking, and (at times) difficult to watch film.

Imagine if Quentin Tarantino decided to remake the 1987 comedy Walk Like a Man as a modern grindhouse thriller; you'd basically have the recipe for The Woman. One of the best horror films I saw in 2011, The Woman centers around a lawyer named Christopher Cleek, who discovers a feral woman living in the woods, captures her, and brings her home to his family in order to civilize her for modern society. Of course, the woman turns out to be more than Christopher bargained for, and before long, the family is forced to defend themselves against an unfamiliar enemy with the upper hand. Despite its familiar explorations of gender and human nature, The Woman is an ambitious, unabashedly strange, and ultimately effective thriller that builds tension toward a brutal, no-holds-barred climax.

My wife & I watched this last night. I've been a Jack Ketchum fan since 1981 when I read his novel Offseason, along with Richard Laymon's The Cellar, and thought, "at last, this is what real horror fiction should be".

It's good to see films of his works. Red was very well done and Off Spring (the sequel to Offseason) was good. The Woman is better. Psychological terror at its best.

Pollyanna McIntosh is amazing as the feral woman. My wife, a costumer, immediately noticed her walk: like a beast, not a woman (or man). Her full-body makeup should earn an Oscar, as well as her acting. Angela Bettis, as the broken-down wife, was also outstanding, and Sean Bridgers, as her sadistic, psychotic husband, had just the right amount of quiet lunacy to carry off the role. It's good to see Sean in a starring role; he's worked hard for it.

The only complaint I had was that some of the music was too LOUD (it distracted form the script) and some of the lyrics had no relation to the action. I've always believed the music should further the action, or strengthen it (The Big Chill).

There was one very gross moment early, that made my wife turn away, but that I thought was the sexiest, most sensual, eating scene since Tom Jones. Look at the woman's expression while she chews....
Highly recommended, as is the book by the same name.

As a fan of Jack Ketchum's work...I had to see the movie too! This (with most horror films) isn't for the faint of heart, or for people easily offended (for some reason I feel if you are searching for this movie I shouldn't have to point this out). The movie is based on a man finding and keeping a feral woman...for his own twisted reasons. I found that although this in itself was disturbing, the rest of the relationships in the movie were just as screwed up and to some extent even worse. I liked the fact the movie didn't look "cheap," I watch quite a few horror flicks and sometimes it's difficult to get very far because the movie is just so poorly put together...not the case for this one! The psychological thrill ride is great! A must for the Ketchum fan or horror fans in general!