Tara Reid to Star in Southern Gothic Horror ‘Scissor Mouth’

Tara Reid (pictured above in Urban Legend) is returning to horror. Deadline reports that the actor is set to star in the Southern Gothic film, Scissor Mouth.

 Johnny Pemberton (Fallout) has also joined the cast.

Set in the early 1980s, Scissor Mouth “follows a teenage girl who escapes years of captivity at the hands of her beauty-obsessed mother, leaving a bloody trail of ‘makeovers’ across rural West Texas.”

The film is described as “a contemporary Southern Gothic horror inspired by an ancient Japanese folktale, using horror to explore society’s obsession with beauty”.

Add Scissor Mouth to the list of recent films that have tackled impossible beauty standards, along with The Substance, The Ugly Stepsister and many others. I love the Japanese folktale approach, based on a terrifying image of a vengeful spirit who carries with her an enormous pair of scissors.

Other projects inspired by the legend include the film Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman and, to a lesser extent, the iconic game franchise, Clock Tower.

Deborah Richards wrote and will direct the film.

Patrick Wirtz is producing alongside 1905 Films.

Said Richards, “Scissor Mouth is my response to the impossible standards of beauty and the scars they leave behind. I wrote Johnny Pemberton’s role with him in mind from the very beginning because I knew his unique blend of humor and heart was exactly what the character needed, while Tara Reid embodies the perfect mix of charm, unpredictability, and humanity for this world. I can’t wait to watch them make these characters their own.”

Added Wirtz: “We have a provocative, fearless script that speaks directly to the world we’re living in today. It’s the kind of horror that gets under your skin and stays with you. I believe it has all the ingredients to become a cult classic that audiences will want to watch, and rewatch, again and again.”