How does one make a good horror movie? Is the same old recipe of zombies, monsters and vampires still good enough to fill the theaters? Should a director go instead for the simpler way of scoring at the box-office, by going for a remake of a popular and classic horror movie in the hope that people will come to see it just to have a term of comparison with its older version? Haven't we enough clichés already?

Mitchell Lichtenstein has the perfect horror movie for all those who are into this genre. But, first, you must be warned: 'Teeth' is not some cheaper version of 'Jaws', but it centers entirely on the myth that terrified men of different cultures for so many centuries: vagina dentata, or the toothed vagina. Chances are that, were you to be brave enough as to go and see it, your sex life will reach a new low for a while after.

Don't go all judgmental and rule this one out just because it plays on such a topic. First of all, there is not one second of the movie that seems dull or cheap. The stellar performances of the actors (all newcomers: a Kate Winslet younger version in the person of Jess Weixler and John Hensley, the devilish young boy), the deep and symbolic plotline and Lichtenstein's brilliant directing have garnered more than enough positive reviews even from the most skeptic film critics as to be worth your time.

The plot focuses on a young woman, Dawn, yet unfamiliar with her sexuality. Unaware that her body is working full time without her even paying attention to it, she is the strongest and most active supporter of celibacy out of all her peers which, naturally, turns her into their favorite person to mock and laugh at. Add to that the death of her mother and an abusive step brother, and you have the full picture of her whole life right in front of you.

As the poster for the movie says, 'Warning: Sex Changes Everything', it's not until her step brother tries to rape her that she realizes that she has something more than the rest of her gal pals (a vagina with teeth). From now on, the phrase 'Sex as a weapon' gets a different new meaning, one that probably no one would have thought possible until now.

Many reviewers classify 'Teeth' under the heading 'a powerful fantasy of a woman's revenge'. True. But, somehow, it also manages to be more than that: the movie becomes a moving and scary insight into the teenage culture (where sex seems to be about everything their lives are limited to), the blooming sexuality of a young woman and, more important of all, a graphical representation of the aforementioned myth.

Vagina dentata has been used by many other artists, from totally different areas than Lichtenstein, but it has never gotten such an inspired representation. Basically, the myth is based on a man's fear of intercourse, since he enters 'triumphantly' but leaves 'diminished'. Plus, once intercourse begins, the disappearance of the penis into the vagina (even if for a short period of time), makes the man think he has no penis at all.

Now, after you try and picture all this in your mind, try to imagine that, by going to see 'Teeth', you will actually get to see it on the big screen. It's scary, I know, but really worth watching because it goes way beyond the oddity that having such a toothed organ supposes. So, if you're a true horror fan, just try and get over your prejudices and go and see it. 'Teeth' is now playing at the Sundance Film Festival (where it's also nominated for the grand jury prize) and an US release is expected soon after that.