10 Awesome Movies You Might Have Missed in 2012

7. Excision

Here's a comedy so thoroughly demented some viewers will obstinately suggest that it's not a comedy at all, but rest assured, bleak and gory as Excision is, it's also wrly funny as a suburban satire not unlike Ginger Snaps, while retaining the same female awakening gaminess of De Palma's classic Carrie. Smartly directed and cannily written though it is by Richard Bates Jr, the real key to the film's success is AnnaLynne McCord's superb performance as Pauline, the teen at the center of the piece who delusionally believes she is going to be a great surgeon, a key tenet of the narrative that ties directly to the disturbing final scene of the film. The usually gorgeous McCord - seen glammed-up in only some unsettling dream sequences - is completely dressed-down and despoiled through the art of some astounding make-up, presented here as plain and as rough around the edges as possible. Part satire of middle-class suburbia - Pauline's mother, played by Traci Lords, is hilariously uncaring about her daughter - part sex parable, and part body horror, Excision covers all of its bases well, and is stunningly acted, visually sumptuous, and not a minute too long to boot. Horror fans will have a whale of a time. Excision is available on DVD/Blu-Ray now.