The Woman (2011)

''From the chilling mind of Jack Ketchum''. I can't disagree with that. Even though I'm not that familiar with his work, it's not hard to spot a ruthless mind. 'The Woman' is an obnoxious story that will grab many viewers by the balls but might also lose quite a few by squeezing too hard.

Jack Ketchum's story is about the family 'Cleek'. They seem like the stereotypical family where the one daughter is depressed and the other too young to understand, the son is a weirdo, the dad is a hard working dude-in-a-suit and the mother is just cleaning and cooking. That is untill the head of the household, Christopher, finds a wild woman in the forest. He decides to catch her and bring her home as a 'suprise'. Hunters trophy I guess?

'The Woman' mostly revolves around the display of power over an individual. You can compare this to 2008's Deadgirl. How far does a man go when he has complete power over a woman? And for those who've seen Deadgirl, you know it's there are no limits. There's no real difference here, except for the fact that the husband involves his family.

And that's where the problems start. The mother (played by Angela Bettis) clearly missed all the feministic waves as she has no own opinion whatsoever. You know this can't go on forever. The problems are stacking up as the daughter seems to be having private problems and hot math teachers are apparently really nosy nowadays. The father and son obviously never played soccer or football as they enjoy their time together with this little father-son project. There's something fishy going on here, and I can't wait to discover what's up with this family.

'The Woman' is building something big here. They tease the viewer with some semi-torture. rape and the arguing takes on serious forms later in the movie. The husband is going way to far, the son is imitating his behaviour and the mom is tired of being the slave in this household. It has plenty to offer.

It had a ton of tiny moments that got me excited, even though their isn't any shivering torture or notable big suprises (even though the ending has one). I wouldn't say it aims for a hardcore crowd, but they could've tryed some heavier stuff if you ask me. Only the ending is efficient when it comes to the gore, and it's rewarding to say the least. The main focus lies on the relationships and trust within a family when they find themselves in an unusual situation. They're all guilty of this crime, so when do you draw the line? And then...are you brave enough to step in?

The make-up was excelent. Combine that with the great acting by Pollyanna McIntosh, and the woman wil look and sound dirty and deranged. Every role was well played so that won't be an issue at all. Ketchum's story holds some hardcore potential, but it ends up the closest to a psychological horror. Which is a shame for some viewers but a pleasure for others, I can see myself liking this movie even better with a few slight changes.

The part that did the most for me was the ending. Not only does it carry a fun suprise, it's also gory and simply crazy. It makes up for the slow start. Oh wait, I have to make sure that I don't forget the soundtrack which is amazing! This woman has plenty to offer if you're into Jack Ketchum's stories or just interested in this power-theme.

Score: 85/100