Closing out my coverage of this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival is a truly unexpected film, Touch Me. Writer and director Addison Heimann (Hypochondriac) crafts a unique blend of comedy, sci-fi, and sex to tell a very human story of overcoming trauma. When two co-dependent friends find their home uninhabitable, they’re forced to stay with a narcissistic alien. As the pair become addicted to the alien’s euphoric touch, it threatens their friendship, their resolve, and their lives.

This is Heimann’s sophomore feature film, and it’s already quite clear he has a unique voice. Touch Me focuses on Joey, a traumatized and down on her luck young woman trying to figure her life out while living with her best friend, Craig. When the two realize they have to temporarily leave their literal shit-filled home, Joey begrudgingly returns to her alien ex-boyfriend’s house with Craig in tow. On the surface, the alien, Brian, seems like a strange guy with a cult-leader vibe, but supposedly he is on our planet to save the environment. Joey has already run away from him once, but she’s drawn to the heroin-like touch of his tentacles that makes all her trauma and anxiety disappear, at least for a little while. Yet the longer Joey is back in Brian’s world, the more she realizes he might not be all he claims to be. There are certain aspects of the alien lore that leave lingering questions, but it seems as though Heimann knew this, or maybe even intended it, poking fun at those unexplained plot points in the final moments of the film. It takes the audience on a bizarre journey filled with big laughs, explosive suspense, and lots and lots of alien sex.

On the surface, Touch Me seems like a psychosexual comedy for all the sci-fi nerds out there. Taking a deeper look reveals something far more compelling. It emphasizes the lasting impact of trauma and how it burrows into the deepest part of you, impacting every aspect of your life. When your world is constantly filled with anxiety and panic, all you want is to feel the euphoria of a calm mind. Some people find that in therapy, medication, alcohol, drugs, or other means. For Joey and Craig, they find that in Brian’s touch. It’s easy to become addicted to the thing that makes you feel free, and many will go to dramatic, even dangerous lengths to achieve that feeling. This is something that is so relatable, and it’s fascinating to watch how it impacts these two friends who have been dependent on each other up until now because of that lasting trauma. Not to mention, Brian’s cult-leader like persona highlights how narcissists can see the broken parts of people like Joey and know how easy it is to manipulate them. This exact story could easily be told in a more serious, realistic way without an alien, but Touch Me allows for the message to be conveyed in a more palatable, entertaining way.

Making Touch Me horny, funny, and emotional are the brilliant performances from the small cast. Olivia Taylor Dudley (The Magicians, Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls) stars as Joey. This might be one of Dudley’s best performances to date. She manages to convey all of Joey’s flaws, all while making the character empathetic. Joey is a very complicated woman, and as more of her history and mental health comes to light, it’s easy to understand how she ended up here. Jordan Gavaris (Hacks, Orphan Black) plays Joey’s best friend, Craig. Gavaris gives one of the more comedic performances of the film, yet he still shows the depth and trauma Craig hides beneath all that humor. Dudley and Gavaris have great chemistry, making it easy to believe these two are best friends as they make the audience laugh and pull on the heart strings. Rounding out the dysfunctional trio is Lou Taylor Pucci (Spring, Evil Dead) as Brian. Pucci is almost unrecognizable in this role, making Brian both creepy and charismatic all at once. He also someone manages to have sexual chemistry with every character Brian encounters throughout the film.

A truly surprising aspect of Touch Me is the array of incredible visuals. At first these are subtle with gorgeous lighting, especially for the more sexual scenes. From there the audiences are treated to some unexpected, and often hilarious, quirky edits and cutaway scenes. One scene is even in grainy black and white, showing text messages the way dialogue was shown in old silent films. All of these different lighting and editing techniques lend to the absurdity of the plot, while also adding to the strange set that is Brian’s home. Yet what audiences are sure to enjoy most are the brilliant practical effects. The film has bloody, gruesome deaths to add gore and raise the stakes. Plus, the creature design for Brian’s true form is absolutely fantastic. It’s an alien design heavy on the tentacles and slime that will have audiences both disgusted and intrigued.

Touch Me is a singular film of trauma and addiction that delivers laughs, horrors, and tentacled alien sex. Heimann once again proves he is a filmmaker to watch, telling compelling stories in truly unexpected ways. Audiences will fall in love with Dudley, Gavaris, and Pucci’s performances, even when their characters are at their worst. Not to mention the insane visuals that add beauty and terror to the quirky humor. Touch Me certainly won’t be for everyone, but those searching for their own euphoria to quiet their minds will no doubt fall in love.

OVERALL RATING: 8/10