The Most Disturbing Horror Film You’ve Never Seen Is Now Free to Stream
There’s something undeniably appealing about subversive, boundary-pushing horror cinema. It’s cathartic to see filmmakers deal with heavy themes in a safe space. The Richard Bates Jr. film Excision very much fits that mold. This brutal, under-seen indie is a grisly nightmare of a film I’ve only watched a handful of times to date, but it’s imprinted in my brain like I just watched it yesterday.
Writer/director Bates juxtaposes violent imagery and sexually explicit themes alongside the blackest of comedy, all wrapped in the guise of a coming-of-age film about a deeply disturbed high school student. The film takes the kind of body horror for which beloved director David Cronenberg is so well known and pairs that with themes of loneliness, teenage sexuality, and mental illness. Bates’ direction and script are on point, as is AnnaLynne McCord’s jarring turn as lead character Pauline.
The setup for this decidedly uncomfortable effort goes like this: Outcast teenager Pauline practices surgical skills and has weird, and increasingly violent, psychosexual fantasies.
McCord rose to prominence with appearances on television series like Nip/Tuck and 90210. But she is far more dynamic than either of those roles allows her to demonstrate. Many of the parts the actress has played lean into her exotic features and profound physical beauty. Excision lets her depart from all of that and paints her as a misfit ugly duckling. Her turn as Pauline is so effective that I wish McCord had the freedom to take on diverse roles like this with far greater frequency. It’s not just about downplaying her looks, either. Any beautiful starlet can do that, McCord, however, completely becomes the character, seemingly effortlessly transitioning into an unhinged monster with an unquenchable thirst for blood.
The film fully commits to the unorthodox nature of its subject matter. Case in point, John Waters features as a youth pastor. You can’t make this stuff up. The film doesn’t necessarily take direct influence from Waters, but the proceedings share a similar lack of restraint, never shying away from shocking onscreen depictions. Bates juxtaposes sexually explicit themes alongside graphic depictions of ultra-violence, laced with an undercurrent of comedy. It’s quite the mixture, indeed.
If I have piqued your curiosity, you can find the film streaming on Tubi.
There you have it, dear reader. Go stream Excision on Tubi, but brace yourself, you are in for a wild ride. Stay tuned to the site for more streaming recommendations in the near future. In the meantime, you can find me on Threads as @FunWithHorror.
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