After a series of unfortunate events leaves their house uninhabitable and reeking of poo, two co-dependent friends, Joey and Craig, find themselves homeless and out of options. That’s when Joey’s mysterious ex resurfaces. He wants her back. Along with being hot, Brian also happens to be an alien whose touch makes anxiety and depression disappear.
The queer, Los Angeles-based filmmaker, Addison Heimann, wrote and directed the psychosexual horror-comedy Touch Me. The story revolves around the codependant friends who become addicted to the soothing touch of a an extraterrestrial narcissist bent on ruling the earth. The movie stars Jordan Gavaris (Wish You Were Here, Hacks), Olivia Taylor Dudley (She Dies Tomorrow, The Magicians), and Lou Taylor Pucci (Daredevil: Born Again, American Horror Story). John Humber (Hypochondriac, Moon Manor) and David Lawson Jr. (Something In The Dirt, Things Will Be Different) produced the film. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Overlook Film Festival and featured at both Sundance and SXSW.
Touch Me is a wild, wild ride from start to masterful finish. It is ridiculously funny but also carries the weight of numerous metaphors and messages on it’s broad shoulders. It is colourful, witty, sexy, and sadistic comedy with a splash of body horror, strong LGBT vibes, and weird tribute to Japanese tentacle porn.
The film starts with a summary of what I originally thought the film was going to be about—a retelling of an abusive relationship between two of our protagonists, Brian (Pucci) and Joey (Dudley). This retelling is then punctuated with Joey running back to her BFF, Craig (Gavaris), who is all sorts of hot mess. It’s here that we get our first lesson. Craig and Joey are both barely functioning adults, giving in to each other’s terrible advice and allowing each other to validate their mutual poor choices. They bury their problems in sex, wine, and jokes. Then, when the shit hits the fan–almost literally–both decide to jump ship and run back to Joey’s otherworldly ex.
What comes next is a somewhat preachy film that highlights a number of toxic traits and how people either excuse, ignore, or embrace them and how unhealthy that all is. These messages are wrapped up in layer upon layer of ridiculous sex scenes, fantastic cinematography, cute choreography, filthy jokes, and—yes—rapey alien tentacles. Something for the whole family to enjoy!
This film does not deserve its ridiculous 5-star rating on IMDb. Touch Me is smart, modern, sexy, and thoughtful. The dynamic between all three of our leads is electric, with the tension being absolutely real and the codependency being explored in fun and engaging ways. Then there’s the brilliant social commentary on toxic relationships and turning a blind eye to obvious red flags. There’s gaslighting, emotional abuse, sex being used as a tool (or a weapon), dildo fights, commentary on addiction, and interspecies intercourse.
And yes, I can understand why the critics are loving this, but filmgoers are confused; the film is essentially complex messages wrapped in dick jokes and queer humour. At face value, it’s a sci-fi sex fantasy/comedy, but there is so much more substance here if you can just stop clutching your pearl necklaces and enjoy the ride for what it is. This is probably one of the most entertaining films of the year so far and is probably going to finish in my top ten.
Touch Me is what I like to see in filmmaking. It has bold ideas expressed in creative ways. It has important messages delivered by creative and quirky characters. It is loud, proud, fun and unafraid to shock audiences. It is everything that a genre film should be. Touch Me will be available on Blu-ray and for digital download from Monday, the 4th of May. I’ll add some links for your viewing pleasure. Thanks for reading, and as always, stay sordid. The trailer and artwork are also below.
