IR Film Review: TOUCH ME [Shudder]
The idea of trauma versus the notion of being calmed is an interesting irony in the tendency of the thriller/comedy/horror film “Touch Me” from Shudder. The film itself is all over the place but wants to establish that uncomfortable edge on its approach to identity, jealousy, the aspect of co-dependency, trauma and the effects of circumstance. The film primarily follows Joy (Olivia Dudley) who is working dead-end jobs and hanging out smoking with her best friend, the gay Craig (Jordan Gavaris) who is also going nowhere. The film actually begins in a therapist's office where Joy talks about this new man she met: Brian (Lou Taylor Pucci — looking very different from his earlier roles). She says that he is an allen but that the sex is great but the weird story she tells of her addition to him and his tentacles seems like a weird manga off-telling. But that is the film’s tone..basically like a Greg Araki or Quentin Depieux side telling which is meant to indicate something else. The actors do their best though it never feels dangerous enough. However the trauma and its intent at various times are played very serious.
And yet then Pucci as Brian starts to dance at different point as a would-be erotic new age guru in a tracksuit. At these points, the film takes on a side pseudo-sexual context which is meant to reflect a kind of mind control or brain washing until certain aspects are reversed. There is, of course, a boatload of metaphysical symbolism including rebirth. And again, this is done on a limited budget. Writer/Director Addison Hiemann definitely has something to say but seems like he/she wants to say everything all at once with only some of it coming clearly through. Even the character of Laura (Marlene Forte) speaks to all kinds of trauma. Whether or not these are different forms of narrative intent or character flushing is an interesting question and not fully answered. “Touch Me” offers a lot of interesting questions but within a weird genre context which speaks to many things offering something not necessarily cohesive but instead a potpourri of ideas which fits into an interesting box. C+
By Tim Wassberg
