Mitchell Lichtenstein's Teeth is the bizarre horror film of an innocent virgin, Dawn O'Keefe, who discovers she has teeth in her vagina. The plot also includes Dawn's stepbrother making unwanted advances towards her and her active participation in a local chastity group set against the backdrop of burgeoning teenage sexuality with a twist -- oh, and the fact she has to floss her pussy. Ok, I made that last part up, but should she see a gyno or a dentist?
There's multicultural background to the myth of Vagina Dentata: Egyptian, Indo-European, Greek, Native American, African and crass jokes in modern times. Very odd, but several isolated cultures have their own take on it. Most of my Internet research reveals that the Vagina Dentata myth revolves around fear of castration and/or fear of powerful women. Don't turn your lights off or some mean, scary vag is gonna get you! I'd like to see how Lichtenstein managed to turn this concept into a horror flick. I find the trailer for Teeth (below) to be more comical than frightening.
The lead who plays Dawn, Jess Weixler, won the Sundance Film Festival jury award for acting.
[The first three images below are screen captures from the film, Teeth, a Sundance Festival selection which is not yet out on DVD. The black and white image is taken from The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets by Barbara Walker.]
