It’s been two years since filmmaker Addison Heimann broke onto the scene at SXSW with his deeply personal horror film Hypochondriac. Heimann channelled his own raw experiences of having a mental breakdown into that film’s narrative and put it on the screen for all to see. In Hypochondriac, he bared his soul. But for his sophomore feature Touch Me, Heimann is unapologetically baring his inner-freak for the world to see – and it’s a joyfully bonkers and slutty trip. Touch Me is a wild, vibrantly coloured, psychosexual sci-fi horror with so many bonkers directorial choices, it feels like you’ve taken multiple edibles whilst watching.
The story is centred around a pair of directionless, thirsty-something roommates called Joey (Olivia Taylor Dudley) and Craig (Jordan Gavaris). Joey was once an aspiring journalist but now works as a waitress at a soulless coffee chain. Craig is an unemployed gay man who is still sponging off his parents, who pay for his LA apartment. He spends most of his days habitually vaping and jumping between Grindr hookups and keeping up-to-date with his Japanese streak on Duolingo. He’s a chronically lonely individual, which is why he lets friend Joey crash at his place for free, just so he has some company.
But when their bathroom erupts and becomes a literal shit-storm, they resort to staying with Joey’s former lover Brian, played by Lou Taylor Pucci – a tracksuit-wearing figure who bears an uncanny resemblance to cult-like figure Jared Leto. The only thing is, Brian is actually a tentacled alien disguised as a human, who has the ability to alleviate human anxiety just from a touch. Joey has never known the level of bliss she has experienced after her sexual encounters with Brian. All of her fear and dread evaporates from her body after they engage in what Brian calls “cross-species intercourse”. And when they arrive at his secluded sanctuary in the middle of nowhere, Craig also learns the power of Brian’s carnal touch. Soon, these millennials-in-crisis find themselves fighting over the affections of Brian. Hooked on his touch like a powerful drug.
Heimann cleverly reinforces the drug-induced feelings of his characters through playful visual imagery. In one scene, Joey spots a ‘Help Wanted’ sign that pops off around her head in a kaleidoscope pattern, like she’s on a psychedelic trip. And in another scene, Craig’s head splinters off and fractures into multiple versions of himself as if he were looking into a smashed mirror.
Cinematographer Dustin Supencheck also adds a hallucinatory quality to the film, with several scenes featuring a sheen that looks like oil and water colliding into an immiscible puddle. It’s cinematic language like this which reinforces how these two characters are having a major crisis of identity.
Influences are abundant on display in Touch Me. Heinemann’s inspirations span across many different decades and genres of cinema. There are attributes of other modern celebrated queer filmmakers, such as Gregg Araki (Kaboom) and John Cameron Mitchell (How to Talk to Girls at Parties), throughout. But Heimann also evokes the warped sensuality of the Pinku Eigu era of Japanese cinema from the sixties and seventies with homages to films like Lady Snowblood and Blind Woman’s Curse.
The result is a wildly tangy genre-cocktail that will no doubt be an acquired taste for audiences. Some are simply going to find it too strange from the outset as it is the type where you frequently ask yourself “what the hell am I watching?” But others will be delighted by Heimann’s unrestrained quirkiness and originality. There is a tactile old-school charm to Touch Me that is reminiscent of the monsters-of-the-week in cult TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer – another property Heimann was clearly a fan of. The out-of-this-world sex scenes are a marvellous display of practical effects and rigorous puppetry working in tandem. Multiple characters find themselves hoisted in the air mid-orgasm as a Kraken-sized tentacle tenderly cradles their torso.
The truth is, there is an audience for weird films like Touch Me. It’s not a movie intended for mass consumption, but more for the outsiders looking to feel seen. It’s great seeing a filmmaker like Heimann have the creative freedom to explore heavy subjects like childhood trauma, climate change and codependency with such cartoony exuberance.
★★★
Touch Me is available on Digital and Blu-Ray from May 5th / Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jordan Gavaris, Marlene Forte, Paget Brewster / Dir: Addison Heimann / Lightbulb Film Distribution / 18
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