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nTitle: Tooth and Nail (2007)
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nDirector: Mark Young
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nCast: Michael Madsen, Vinnie Jones, Rider Strong, MichaelnKelly
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nReview:
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nI’ve noticed that filmmakers behind post apocalyptic filmsnalways try to add their own twist to them. For example Stake Land
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nOn Tooth and Nail we are presented with the idea that thenworld has gone to hell because one day we ran out of gas. In this movie having nongas for cars or electricity equals total world destruction. Now if that’s believablenor not doesn’t really matter, what matters is the point that the film is tryingnto make. How obsessed our society is with oil; how much of our society dependsnon it and what will happen if we ever run out of it. These are all interesting ideasnthe film presents us with; no doubt. I’m all for using cleaner and safer formsnof energy; oil will have to go at some point. So after that’s been establishednwe meet a group of survivors who call themselves ‘The Foragers’. Basically, theynare a small group of people who’ve gathered in an abandoned hospital. Togethernthey are trying to regain normality. They even have a leader, a scholar type bynthe name of ‘Darwin’ who wants’ to attempt to rebuild the human race. He’s gotna job for everyone to do; one picks the wood, the other one gathers water andnso forth. Unfortunately, Darwin
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nTooth and Nail was part of the ‘8 Film to Die For’ that thenfolks at After Dark Films started back in 2006. These After Dark films are hitnand miss bunch; you might catch a fairly good one, or a really crappy one. Theyntell you that these films were ‘too scary’ to be released in theaters, when innreality they were simply not deemed worthy enough for theatrical release. Butnthis doesn’t make them any less fun to watch. I’ve enjoyed some of the films they’venreleased like for example The Gravedancers (2005) a film from Mike Mendez thendirector behind the demonic ultra cheap-o good time The Convent (2000). Toothnand Nail was part of the second batch of ‘8 Films to Die For’ that came out inn2007, and it’s neither good, nor bad. It simply is what it is, a postnapocalyptic slasher with a couple of ultra gory deaths.
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nThe problem with somenultra low budget post apocalyptic films is that because of their budgetarynlimitations, it is often times difficult for them to convey the end of thenworld. It takes a truly gifted and imaginative filmmaker to pull this of on ansmall budget; but it’s not impossible, it can be done. Just look at Six StringnSamurai (1998). Often times directors will choose to shoot their postnapocalyptic films in the dessert because it’s easier, you don’t have worrynabout showing decaying buildings or anything, just the dessert. Kind of likenthe same way that many slasher films take place in the woods, because filmingnin the woods is cheap and it cuts down costs.
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nUnfortunately Tooth & Nail takes place in a city, andnthe buildings don’t look post-apocalyptic enough. Tooth & Nail does good bynstarting the film with real life news reel footage of chaos in the world, whichnis a good trick used by a post apocalyptic films to convey chaos and disordernin the world; for example Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead (2004) does this. Weneven get some cool shots of burnt decaying corpses inside of smashed up cars. Thenproblem for me with Tooth and Nail is that the characters in the film simplynlook too squeaky clean to inhabit a post apocalyptic world. This is the samenproblem I had with another post apocalyptic film I saw recently called Carriersn(2009). Characters just look too clean! In Tooth & Nail even the interiornof the building that the foragers stay in looks too new, too clean, toonorganized, not enough rot and decay. A post apocalyptic world needs to benrotting, old, decomposed, not squeaky clean. Guys need to have long beards,ngirls should have their hairs all messed up and not wear any make up. Everyonenshould be smelly and dirty. But not on Tooth and Nail where the characters seemnto have time to even shave.
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nToo pretty for the apocalypse
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nSlasher films aren’t by definition an intelligent bunch ofnfilms, quite the contrary, these are films that simply exist to scare you withnthe killer hiding behind the shadows and shock you with their grizzly, goryndeaths, nothing more. In this sense, Tooth and Nail succeeded because thendeaths are pretty gory. This film actually reminded me of a slasher film fromnthe eighties, you know, the kind that doesn’t cut away when the time comes tonshow some gruesomeness. It seems to me that those days are bygone; American horrornfilms of today are no longer truly gory, at least not the theatrically releasednones. They may try and be, but they always cut away at the exact moment when we’rensupposed to be seeing some gore. Best example of this was that ultra shittynFriday the 13th remake (2009). I hated that one because every timenJason’s machete was about to inflict some damage, the film would cut away tonsomething else. Tooth and Nail doesn’t do that, the gore is there and it’snplentiful. Unfortunately, when that’s the only thing that’s good about yournmovie, then you’ve got a pretty shallow movie. I’m not saying Tooth and Nailnhas nothing to say, it’s just that it says very little. As a bonus we getnVinnie Jones and Michael Madsen playing two bloodthirsty cannibals, but theirnperformances in this movie are closer to cameos, since they only appearnsporadically through out the film. Madsen and Vinnie don’t really contributenanything to the film. The main gripe I had with this movie was that itsnvillains though vicious, had no personality whatsoever. Personality wise, thengood guys themselves where just as bland as their villains.
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nThe real idea, the real theme that Tooth and Nail is rootednin is the quintessential ‘survival of the fittest’. In this film what we reallynmeet is a bunch of weak individuals; even the guys in this group aren’t thenstrong type save for one, the one called ‘Viper’, the hot headed one. What these characaters don’t realize is thatncivilization is long gone and that the world they are living in has changed. They actually recognize that they are the weak link, that athe bad guys are stronger,nmore numerous. Hell, even knowing the have weapons, they still dont have faith in themselves, they live afraid to fight, afraid of change, which is something we should never be afraid to do. Fight for whats right, for our survival. I also liked that at one point, allnmales disappear and it’s up to the women to fend for themselves in this big badnworld. The femaels in the film discuss how much they’d prefer the stronger men of the group to protect them, but at one point, the protection of men dissapears, and then it’s up to the ladies to show they have what it takes to survive in this world on their own. They stop depending on the men for protection when they realize that nonone is going to save them, but themselves. It’s now a dog eat dog world and if you don’t adapt, you die. And this is really the one idea that I did like about the film.
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nRating: 2 1/2 out of 5
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