PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I’ve never done acid, but I imagine the experience must be something akin to watching Michael Reich’s (Video Town 2013) hallucinatory film, She’s Allergic to Cats. The film stars Mike Pinkney (Video Town 2013), Sonja Kinski (Dark Hearts 2014), Flula Borg (Pitch Perfect 2 2015), and Mike Daze (I Love You, Man 2009).
Synopsis
A dog groomer in Hollywood aspires to be more than a dog groomer in Hollywood. Michael Pinkney is a man struggling with his lower income lifestyle in the shadow of the film industry. His job is degrading, his home is infested with rats and his mind constantly wanders into a lo-fi dreamscape that mirrors his analog video experiments. Michael’s menial routine spirals out of control when he meets Cora, the girl of his dreams. On their first date his greatest hopes and worst fears are realized as they journey down a dark, twisted path that descends into surreal chaos.
The main character, Michael Pinkney (played by Michael Pinkney), a dog groomer who crafts experimental videos in his spare time, seems riddled with anxiety. His incredibly gloomy apartment is infested with rats, and his landlord seems bizarrely clueless as to what to do about it. So, enter into the picture the beautiful Cora (Kinski), the personal assistant of Mickey Rourke’s daughter. She brings a dog to be groomed, and Michael is smitten. But can he keep it together, or will their date become a nightmare?
This film was an interesting watch for me. I appreciated the experimental approach to the subject matter that filmmakers were willing to take. The use of analog/VHS quality footage acted almost as Michael’s thought processes as his anxious mind skipped from one subject to the next. The acting was pretty terrific, especially the utterly hypnotic Sonja Kinski (daughter of Nastassja Kinski). You absolutely cannot keep your eyes off of her while she is on screen.
Now for the negative: this film was full of images that I could have gone my entire life without seeing. Does anyone need to see a dog’s anal glands being expressed that close up? Really? I’ve sat through plenty of surreal films, and I don’t remember being as disgusted as I was at parts of this one.
That being said, I appreciate the hell out of Michael Reich for making something completely out of the box. If you want something different, look no further than She’s Allergic To Cats! Beginning on April 7th, it will be available Nationwide for rent or buy on iTunes or Amazon Prime.
