The Woman

Plot: The Woman is about a typical American family who captures a feral woman that they find living on their property. The capture her with the intention of civilizing her and helping her. But as things progress further into dark territories it becomes apparent that the men of the family want something far more sinister.

Review: Before getting into the review itself, I feel like I should discuss the writer Jack Ketchum. He is a modern horror author much like Stephen King and like Mr. King he has had several of his books turned into full feature films. His films tend to be darker and more disturbing than Kings.  Ketchum is not stranger to controversy, between this film and his 2009 film The Girl Next Door he has become a writer that usually will find his was to a top ten list of most disturbing films somewhere.

Now onto today's film. The Woman is a blood soaked flick that doesn't sacrifice on its character development, like most modern horror films. It gets you invested in one or more of its leads and then makes you want to watch others suffer. The Jack Ketchum films I have seen, do three things very well. Disturb you to your core, cause you to hate  people, and keep the film at a R-rating without resorting to a Unrated cut to have a shocking film.The Woman does all three of these things. But does that make it a good movie or just a film that shocks over story?

The story, while simple does its job of throwing enough twists at you to keep your eyes on the screen, even through the cracks of your hands. The shocking parts of this film aren't from the gore they are from the normality of the main antagonists and how they act when they are not being terrible. The male lead acts completely normal away from home, and then becomes an absolute monster at home. You genuinely feel like he is trying to do the right thing. While this does seem new to horror films, the acting makes it feel very real. 

The film is not without its flaws, the major flaw is its ending. Its a ending that does not fit the realism that the film was going for. The revenge segment of the film is easily the weakest, turning a disturbingly realistic drama into a gore filled cannibal film. It is not enough to ruin the film, it just seems out of place.

Recommend?: Yes, it is great horror film that does exactly what a horror film should do. Shock and disturb you. It is not for the faint of heart but I do recommend it easily.