Cat got your tongue? If you’ve ever heard that term and you spend large parts of your day in silence reflecting on the day’s events, Booger is probably the movie you need to see. It is this movie - where one woman’s inability to cope with the emotional loss of her best friend - which gives new meaning to an archaic term which is still inexplicably linked - is it from the royal navy or is it from Egyptian lore?? - to those of the feline condition.
Booger is brilliantly bonkers. And it’s quite beautiful to behold.
Sometimes a cat bite is more than just a sign that they are done with petting time. In the case of Booger, the acclaimed debut feature film from writer-director Mary Dauterman, that bite from one rascally feline actually turns its victim into a cat. The transformation of Anna is a slow one, mind you, but it elevates this wild and wacky stab at body horror into some new territory as tragedy becomes transformation and a profound loss felt by one woman gets, well, a little hairy.
Featuring an absolutely amazing performance by Grace Glowicki (Tito, Strawberry Mansion) as Anna, Booger is the story of her absolute embrace of loss upon the unexpected arrival of survivor’s guilt she feels with the loss of her roommate, Izzy (Sofia Dobrushin). The two were very close and when she learns of the accident which takes her life, Anna is left with only the apartment they shared, video memories on her phone, and Izzy’s moody cat, Booger.
Anna skips out on work, her life, and - with visits from Izzy’s grieving mother (Marcia DeBonis) - finds herself stumbling into the black waters of depression. Even her boyfriend is of little use. Soon, Booger, the only living thing which connects her to Izzy’s memory, has had enough of the black cloud which hangs over her. The cat bites her and then makes its escape down the fire escape.
The loss only adds to Anna’s spiraling. But, as she searches for the whereabouts of the cat, she finds herself craving bugs, growing sharp teeth, craving cat food, and peering frantically at birds. Just what the hell is happening to her?!?!?!
Also starring Garrick Bernard (Single Drunk Female), David Rysdahl (Oppenheimer, Fargo), and indie cult icon Heather Matarazzo (Welcome to the Dollhouse, Scream 3), Booger is a showstopper of supernatural flexing as body horror meets pure confusion and repulsion in this transformation which Anna feels overtaking her . . . complete with hairballs and a whole lot of frantic searches in the woods.
It’s both cathartic and completely gross. Don’t go in expecting an updated take on 1942’s The Cat People and you will do just fine. This is some new territory as the genre goes for emotional repression and comes out with a unique new voice for the horror scene.
Booger opens in select theaters and arrives on VOD on Friday, September 13 from Dark Sky Films, with weeklong runs at the Quad Cinema in New York City and Laemmle Glendale in Los Angeles, with special filmmaker Q&As.
MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 78 mins
Director: Mary Dauterman
Writer: Mary Dauterman
Cast: Grace Glowicki; Garrick Bernard; Heather Matarazzo
Genre: Comedy | Horror
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Distributor: Dark Sky Films
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Release Date: September 13, 2024
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: After the death of her best friend Izzy, Anna focuses all her attention on Booger, the stray cat which she and Izzy took in. When Booger bites her, she begins to undergo a strange transformation.
