Rating: 3.5/5
everything's getting fucked up like it always does
On the same day, Dawn’s boyfriend Mike dies of cancer, and she has a miscarriage. After a suicide attempt, her doctor recommends going to a place that brings her comfort and gives her some time to heal
She chooses her childhood seaside home, still full of old toys and drawings. As she pulls them out, she unveils memories once repressed of an alcoholic mother and lonely child
Walking the beach, she finds a small, fleshy creature near death — through much doubt and reconsideration, she takes it home to help bring it back to health. That same day, she decides to throw her meds in the ocean
As she cares for the creature, she discovers it secretes a liquid pleasing to the touch and taste. Her life changes as she becomes more dependent on the creature
The movie is a mid-00s indie, so aesthetically, it looks like every other mid-00s indie/mumblecore film. The tone has a surreal quality to it, but it never telegraphs whether we should be horrified or approving of Dawn’s choices
Overall, the movie has a unique approach to using body horror to discuss mental health and disassociation. It isn’t for everyone, but the weirdos who like weird movies can handle it
** SPOILERS ** The creature seems to have a vaginal opening. It has a fishy tail and sort of a fetus-like shape. It secretes when Dawn is aroused — it is Dawn’s sex drive, disembodied from her — a repressed thing comes alive and that she is initially a slave to. Though its initial form is all-consuming, by the end, she learns how to have a small amount and experience pleasure without the compulsion