TL;DR – While this is a profoundly weird and visually interesting film, the subject matter almost became a walking red flag, undercutting any progress the film could make.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes which may cause distress.

Touch Me Review Introduction

I will always prefer a film that takes risks rather than playing it safe, like having one man battle Hundreds of Beavers or piercing the veil of nostalgic memory through old videos in Aftersun. However, when you make a big swing at doing something profoundly odd, sometimes you miss, and I feel that is the sort of film we are looking at today.
 
So, to set the scene, we open with Joey (Olivia Taylor Dudley) engaging in some immersion therapy, recounting the story of the time she met and then ‘met’ an ‘alien’ called Brian (Lou Taylor Pucci). Joey has been trying to move on with her life, but she keeps getting brought back to that night, bringing with it many conflicting memories. But when her and her roommate Craig’s (Jordan Gavaris) house floods from a non-water plumbing issue and becomes uninhabitable, she has only one choice left, to go back to Brian.  

What Worked

While I have deep personal issues with the subject matter, that is not to say that the film is devoid of things that worked. Indeed, I think some of the best parts of the film are when they let Olivia Taylor Dudley and Jordan Gavaris riff off each other. They have immense chemistry with an almost sibling-like snark in the way they both support each other and then rip each other down. Marlene Forte is chewing all the scenery and knows 100% what sort of character she is playing, and makes every scene better for it. I also loved the big swings they took with lighting throughout the film. The one thing I can say is that it was never a dull moment, and they make nearly every scene pop. But unfortunately, these strengths only serve to highlight the film’s deeper problems.

What Failed

To get to the heart of what didn’t work in this film, means discussing the content the film is exploring, so for the first time in this sites history I need to be clear that there is a Content Warning for this Paragraph. Moving on from that, while I know this will be a subjective complaint for some people, however for me on a profoundly personal level: I did not care for the pairing of whimsical goofiness with graphic descriptions of child abuse. I know films love to live in these juxtapositions of opposing tones. However, there is certain subject matter that was handled so profoundly poorly in this film that it becomes downright offensive. The film wants to talk about the impact of addiction, but I am not sure it does a good job of it, even before they say the quiet bit aloud. All these issues come even before we mention the alien-hentai sequences that are played in this erotic light, even though textually in the film they are quite often rape scenes or, at the very least, are blurring the lines of consent in a profoundly unpleasant way. These issues are reinforced by the story as it progresses obviously building to that final confrontation, but I don’t think the ends justified the means in this situation.     

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend Touch Me? Straight up: No, we can’t. It is clear that they took a big gamble with this film, and you can see glimpses of brilliance here and there. However, none of that helps bridge the gap created by the woeful application of sensitive themes, making this a profoundly unpleasant viewing. Have you watched Touch Me? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Touch Me
Directed by – Addison Heimann
Written by – Addison Heimann
Music by – Jimmy LaValle
Cinematography by – Dustin Supencheck
Edited by – Jess Weber
Production/Distribution Companies – Yellow Veil Pictures, Rustic, & Lightbulb Film Distribution
Starring – Olivia Taylor Dudley, Jordan Gavaris, Lou Taylor Pucci, Marlene Forte, Paget Brewster, Ashley Lauren Nedd, JJ Phillips, Yumarie Morales, & Eli Lucas
Rating – Around an Australia: MA15+;