''The Woman'' is a 2011 American horror film directed by

Lucky McKee Edward Lucky McKee (born November 1, 1975) is an American director, writer, and actor, largely known for the 2002 cult film '' May''. He is best known for his work in horror films. Life and career McKee was born in Jenny Lind, California. He h ...

, adapted by McKee and

Jack Ketchum Dallas William Mayr (November 10, 1946 – January 24, 2018), better known by his pen name Jack Ketchum, was an American horror fiction author. He was the recipient of four Bram Stoker Awards and three further nominations. His novels inclu ...

from McKee and Ketchum's novel of the same name. It is a sequel to the 2009 film ''

Offspring In biology, offspring are the young creation of living organisms, produced either by a single organism or, in the case of sexual reproduction, two organisms. Collective offspring may be known as a brood or progeny in a more general way. This ca ...

''. The film stars

Pollyanna McIntosh Pollyanna McIntosh (born 15 March 1979) is a Scottish-American actress and director known for her roles in films ''Exam'' (2009), '' The Woman'' (2011), ''Let Us Prey'' (2014), the first season of Joe R. Lansdale's '' Hap and Leonard'' (2016), ...

, Angela Bettis,

Sean Bridgers Sean MacKenzie Bridgers (born March 15, 1968) is an American actor, screenwriter, and producer, known for his role as Johnny Burns on the HBO series '' Deadwood'' and on the SundanceTV original series ''Rectify'' as Trey Willis. Additional to m ...

Lauren Ashley Carter Lauren Ashley Carter is an American actress and producer. Personal life Carter grew up in Ohio and graduated from the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dramatic Performance in 200 ...

, Carlee Baker, and Alexa Marcigliano, and introduces Zach Rand and Shyla Molhusen. The film was released as part of the Bloody Disgusting Selects line. In 2019, McIntosh wrote and directed a sequel titled '' Darlin'''.

Plot

After the events in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

, an unidentified

feral A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...

woman is the last remaining member of a cannibalistic tribe that has roamed the Northeast coast for decades. Chris Cleek is a county lawyer, who lives with his wife Belle, and their two daughters and son, Peggy, Darlin', and Brian. While out hunting, Chris happens upon the woman, who is bathing and fishing on a creek. The next day, he returns with a net in an effort to capture her. He knocks her out and returns home with her, restrains her in a cellar, and directs his family to participate in "civilizing" her. Over the following days, the Cleek family is revealed to be very

dysfunctional Abnormality (or dysfunctional behavior) is a behavioral characteristic assigned to those with conditions that are regarded as rare or dysfunctional. Behavior is considered to be abnormal when it is atypical or out of the ordinary, consists of u ...

. Chris's first attempt to approach the woman results in her biting off and eating his ring finger. Chris orchestrates a violent series of civilizing measures toward the woman. Chris bathes the woman with boiling water and a high-pressure power washer, causing her extreme pain, and is afterward clothed in a dress Belle sewed. Later that night, Chris

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

s the woman while Brian secretly observes through a hole. The next day, Brian also violates the woman with a pair of

pliers Pliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly, possibly developed from tongs used to handle hot metal in Bronze Age Europe. They are also useful for bending and physically compressing a wide range of materials. Generally, pliers consist ...

but is caught by Peggy. After a series of verbal and physical abuse conducted by both Chris and Brian towards the woman and the family, Belle announces her intention to leave Chris with Peggy and Darlin. In response, Chris knocks Belle unconscious. Peggy's

geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ...

teacher Ms. Genevieve Raton, visits the Cleek residence with the suspicion that Chris has been raping Peggy and possibly gotten her pregnant. Ms. Raton confronts Chris and in response, he knocks her unconscious as well. Chris and Brian tie her up and take her to the barn where he keeps the family dogs. Peggy tries to intervene but becomes a victim of Chris' vicious verbal assault. In the barn, Ms. Raton is attacked by eyeless girl named "Socket", the Cleek's secret third daughter who behaves like the dogs. Socket and the dogs kill and consume Ms. Raton, as Chris and Brian watch. Peggy releases the imprisoned woman from the cellar. Belle, having regained consciousness, is attacked and killed by the woman. The woman then proceeds to kill Brian with a saw. Chris tries to shoot the woman but is overpowered, then the woman tears his heart out, and eats it. Afterward, the woman leaves with Darlin and Socket with Peggy following at a distance.

Cast

as the Woman, the survivor of a tribe of cannibals. *

as Chris Cleek, a country lawyer. * Angela Bettis as Belle Cleek, the wife of Chris Cleek. *

as Peggy Cleek, the oldest daughter of Chris Cleek and Belle Cleek. * Carlee Baker as Ms. Raton, the teacher of Peggy Cleek. * Alexa Marcigliano as Socket Cleek, an eyeless girl, daughter of Chris Cleek and Belle Cleek. * Zach Rand as Brian Cleek, the sadistic son of Chris Cleek and Belle Cleek. * Shyla Molhusen as Darlin' Cleek, the youngest daughter of Chris Cleek and Belle Cleek.

Reception

Critical reception for ''The Woman'' has been positive. , the film holds a 73% approval rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on 51 reviews with an average rating of 6.40 out of 10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Strange, audacious, and aggressive, ''The Woman'' is an uneven horror flick that game viewers with a wildly bloody finale."

Awards and nominations

* Octopus d’Or at the

Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival The Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival (SEFFF) (French: ''Festival Européen du Film Fantastique de Strasbourg ''(''FEFFS'')), is an annual film festival held in Strasbourg, France, that focus on fantasy, science fiction and horror f ...

, for the best international feature film * Audience Award for the best international feature film at the Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival * The Siren; International Award at the Lund Fantastic Film Festival

Sequel

In 2019, a standalone sequel called '' Darlin''' was released which is also Pollyanna McIntosh's directing debut as it tells about a now-feral Darlin' getting taken in by a Catholic boarding school as part of the Woman's secret plans.

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woman 2011 films 2011 horror films American horror films Films based on American horror novels Films shot in Massachusetts Incest in film 2011 independent films American rape and revenge films American sequel films Films directed by Lucky McKee Films about cannibalism 2010s English-language films 2010s American films