I just watched this film...

...and I thought it was a pretty good, but flawed film. I am surprised by the very low rating it has, as the overall film was a clever idea. No, it doesn't have fantastic performances, but that hardly means that the cast is bad. I think that The Leech Woman was a bad title that didn't quite encompass the true subject matter, as it is more a metaphor on how society views aging women.

I think the film has two fundamental flaws in it. One is that there are not any likable characters to balance out the plethora of despicable ones. Even when we start to like someone, it is revealed that they are shallow and only after one thing, be it the greedy jungle guide or the lustful and untrustworthy lawyer friend. With the men, it's all about shallow attraction to beauty. With both of the leading women, it's all about jealousy. We needed a couple of good people to show us the flaws in the main characters motivation to begin with.

The other flaw is that the second half of the film feels rather under-developed. Our leech woman simply wasn't too bright and didn't manage to last very long at all. It would have made the movie so much better if as much attention went into her ability to seduce men and then kill them as opposed to existing for a couple of days before being revealed to all and meeting her fate. So much more could have been done as we watch her carry out her plan. Instead, it was just a few bumbling attempts that gained her nothing. The first part was rather detailed in it's effort to set up the story, but the payoff seemed like an afterthought.

Still, I enjoyed the movie for what it was...underdeveloped, but still a bit clever and interesting. I would rate it around five out of ten stars.