by Marcey Papandrea

Lucky McKee's The Woman has become the subject of controversy since its very first screenings. This label can either help a film gain an audience or completely turn people off, personally when I hear that word my interest picks up. I was not sure what to expect with this, and why it had caused such controversy. I have not read any of Jack Ketchum's novels, so I was unfamiliar with what this was based on. I decided to avoid the trailer and just jump in head first.

The Woman (Pollyanna McIntosh) in question from the title is just that, a woman with no name or background. She lives out in the wilderness, surviving off the land. That is until a lawyer Chris Cleek (Sean Bridgers) spots her one day and decides to take her in with his family. But by take her in, I mean keep her chained up, in some bizarre attempt to civilise her. That sounds rather strange right? Well it only gets weirder, but for spoilers sake I'll leave it at that.

The central premise is what really drew me into this film, as well as the central performance by Pollyanna McIntosh as the woman. There really isn't any background given about her, but it isn't difficult to paint that picture based on what we see. So bringing her into this entirely new environment is not going to end well, it’s just common sense. Something that Chris Cleek has nothing of, from the moment she wakes up in his possession it is clear that serious stuff is going to go down.

The consequences that face everyone in this film are high; the Cleek family have a hard time dealing with the new addition. They don't know how they should feel, and it’s obvious that Chris is very domineering over his wife and kids. They can't say no to him, and suffer because of this. The film definitely has a lot to say about seclusion, unstable family environments and abuse. It is not an easy film to sit through, and is rather disturbing.

It is not the kind of film that is simply there to raise the stakes and be violent for the sake of it. The Woman has something to say, and it does that pretty well. The central performances are all quite compelling in their own way. Pollyanna McIntosh is the clear stand-out actress, with possibly the most difficult role to handle. Sean Bridgers borderlines on being “too insane” to be real, yet that is how his character is written, so it is actually a very solid performance. Angela Bettis who has had a long standing professional relationship with McKee, once again turns in a good performance and definitely makes more out of the character than what was written. The actors who played the children were hit and miss as was Carlee Baker as a throw away teacher character.

In all "The Woman" was an interesting and good addition into the horror genre. Lucky McKee has been solid since his feature length debut in May, while he hasn't quite gotten to the genius of that performance again he's come close. The film has a decent script, great performances, amazing cinematography, is well edited and the soundtrack is strange but it works. I wouldn't call it a must see, but certainly something that fans of McKee and the strange should seek out.