To say this is unsettling would be an understatement. Seeing a "male chauvinist womanizer" emasculated and "womanized" against his will is quite a concept for a mad science horror film. The change for those who feel it is important in expressing who they really are is one thing: but to do so against someone who doesn't request it is whole other matter.
The abduction, imprisonment, removal of fingerprints and penis, eventual incorporation of breasts, "re-identification process", use of music and child's diary, and the torture applied by the doctor/surgeon and his brutish "associate" (who appears to be a dumb misfit with a tough exterior) all serve a purpose, believe it or not, and the reasoning behind it--while seemingly and patently bizarre to us--makes sense to the one conducting the entire orchestrated and elaborate transformation.
Stephen Weigand is the abducted, fortunate for the filmmakers to have features that could allow him to be feminine and masculine. Bob Bancroft is the warped and delirious doc, with affections and dedication to his murdered daughter that transcend normal behavior. Brendan Kelly is the muscle; it appears as if he might have been an experiment/subject in transitioned behavior as well. Stacy Haiduk (who looks fantastic) is stuck with the thankless "snooping detective" part that you realize early won't end well for her.
I don't think this will be offensive to a trans audience because the methods behind what the doctor does is rooted in what sordid acts were perpetrated by the abducted young man prior to his kidnapping and forced transition. This doesn't mock the trans community as much as use what happens to allow them to become what they believe they should be in the structure of a horror plot regarding misguided attempts to force upon one person the identity of another.
A father's pain is quite emphasized and it is the motivating factor behind what happens from beginning to end. Weigand is astonishing in how he is able to change as his character does. To see his identity raped, and another imprinted on him, being able to portray that, is quite impressive. The reenactment which explains everything, except this time the abuser is in place of the abused, is rather mortifying. That this whole scenario plays out just for the reenactment is a telling series of events. How the lead is unveiled as something monstrous alleviates any sympathy perhaps afforded to him during the running time. Quite a tragic and disturbing, not to mention, manipulative little movie. Heartbreaking finale. The open-ended conclusion leaves us with an ambiguous character with an identity that seems totally altered...but where will "she" go and do with the new life infused upon her?
The abduction, imprisonment, removal of fingerprints and penis, eventual incorporation of breasts, "re-identification process", use of music and child's diary, and the torture applied by the doctor/surgeon and his brutish "associate" (who appears to be a dumb misfit with a tough exterior) all serve a purpose, believe it or not, and the reasoning behind it--while seemingly and patently bizarre to us--makes sense to the one conducting the entire orchestrated and elaborate transformation.
Stephen Weigand is the abducted, fortunate for the filmmakers to have features that could allow him to be feminine and masculine. Bob Bancroft is the warped and delirious doc, with affections and dedication to his murdered daughter that transcend normal behavior. Brendan Kelly is the muscle; it appears as if he might have been an experiment/subject in transitioned behavior as well. Stacy Haiduk (who looks fantastic) is stuck with the thankless "snooping detective" part that you realize early won't end well for her.
I don't think this will be offensive to a trans audience because the methods behind what the doctor does is rooted in what sordid acts were perpetrated by the abducted young man prior to his kidnapping and forced transition. This doesn't mock the trans community as much as use what happens to allow them to become what they believe they should be in the structure of a horror plot regarding misguided attempts to force upon one person the identity of another.
A father's pain is quite emphasized and it is the motivating factor behind what happens from beginning to end. Weigand is astonishing in how he is able to change as his character does. To see his identity raped, and another imprinted on him, being able to portray that, is quite impressive. The reenactment which explains everything, except this time the abuser is in place of the abused, is rather mortifying. That this whole scenario plays out just for the reenactment is a telling series of events. How the lead is unveiled as something monstrous alleviates any sympathy perhaps afforded to him during the running time. Quite a tragic and disturbing, not to mention, manipulative little movie. Heartbreaking finale. The open-ended conclusion leaves us with an ambiguous character with an identity that seems totally altered...but where will "she" go and do with the new life infused upon her?