A stylish and erotic horror comedy. touch mewriter/director Addison Heyman flies that eccentric flag proudly. So is Brian (Lou Taylor Pucci), an attractive tracksuit-wearing character in the film who stands between the hapless Joey (Olivia Taylor Dudley) and his gay best friend Craig (Jordan Gavaris).
Upon meeting Joey, Brian quickly admits that he is an alien from another world in human form. He also has a certain talent for seduction.
In a long and riveting opening monologue, delivered to her therapist (Ashley Lauren Ned), Joey recounts meeting Brian and discovering the intoxicating bliss of his touch. Literally touching his hand or a tentacle in its natural form can cause waves of ecstasy.
She confesses that once they had sex, she was completely hooked. However, the fear of what danger Brian would be exposed to was enough to make Joey quit the habit.
The film, which tends to have its characters monologue about their pasts, does more than show us a few encounters that are pivotal to the plot. For a good portion, Joey’s words and Dudley’s convincingly edgy performance serve as a set-up as Brian is formally introduced, dancing to hip-hop in the courtyard of a luxury desert villa.
He invites Joey and Craig to his pad, and they accept, and Pucci’s amusingly deadpan performance as his lover Brian transforms the film into an adventurous psychosexual suspense.
Joey and Craig are stranded in a house with Brian and his hyper-attentive human assistant Laura (Marlene Forte), subject to Brian’s guru-like guidance and his intoxicating touch. Seeming to be open to all kinds of sexual experiences, he seduces both of them, giving way to the soft-core scenes of interracial intercourse that he prefers.
His soft-spoken propensity to counter Joey and Craig’s insatiable thirst for his touch is a gag that keeps on giving. “I need you both,” he said quietly. The smoldering sexual tension between the three serves as steady comic relief, while the best friends weigh their fraying loyalty to each other.
Somehow, in the midst of this neon-hued sci-fi sex fantasy, Hyman provides a sharp commentary on the pair’s codependency, the “straight girl and gay guy” dynamic. He also introduces severe childhood trauma into the volatile mix of emotions swirling within Brian’s crowded home.
Traumatized sexuality was at the heart of Hyman’s previous horror films hypochondriac. But here, PTSD seems to be sprinkled on like a seasoning, adding psychological depth to a stew of dry comedy, B-movie paranoia, and carefree eroticism.
For the most part, the story is a delicious mix, eccentric and unabashedly perverted, but never particularly gruesome until halfway through, when Laura, the faithful servant, becomes increasingly unstable. Forte also played the off-rocker’s mother in the film, who was given several scenes to inspire the character’s evil obsession. hypochondriaccuts through the film’s typical comic tone and brings a chilling breeze.
Then, noir-ish black-and-white flashbacks provide the film’s first real scares, before the low-budget make-up, creature effects, and body horror come in strong. A striking shot of Brian in all his Alien glory – not dissimilar to the much talked about money shot in Boots Riley’s equally eccentric comedy i love booster — pulsating with fear and desire.
After all the build-up, Hyman tones down the climax somewhat, throwing in a final sequence that depicts rather than shows the characters’ potentially tense escapades. But the film’s balance of bold gory visuals, captivating atmosphere, and bold humor ultimately comes together with a convincing touch.
Touch Me (★★★☆☆) Available to stream on Shudder. visit shivering.com.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
