Our chronic need for self -care can sometimes feel like their own illness. Whether you relax your daily deodorant or participate in a weekly therapy session, “take care of yourself means dealing with the symptoms of being a living breathing person … forever. It is annoying, time -consuming and, in the world of wellness marketing, a lucrative and consumption constant. In “The real beauty of being bitten by a tick“Film maker Pete Ohs investigates Snake Oil Culture as a way to exploit both anxiety and fear.
Co-written by the director/editor/producer and the film’s four main actors, this sunny yet Claustrophobic nightmare asks about Faux “healing” mentality here as a stranger-dangers version of a weekend trip you just think You know – really is what makes modern people sick. Preceding the influenza -inspired brilliance of something that Beauty thriller “skin care,” This definitely strange SXSW premiere Follows the sad Yvonne (Zoë Chao) to a friend’s rustic home and worrying life.
White bedding, whole grains, fantastic landscapes and the chance to “unplug” wait for Yvonne in a remote place. The promise to get back to the basics at a time of emotional anxiety is recognition – especially to millennials of a certain age – but the real nature of the tragedy that affects the main characters is not clear at first. When the bird -like Camille (Callie Hernandez, also a producer) opens the front door to her picturesque cabin and takes Yvonne in, her already emotional house guest is to find that she will share the intimate and idyllic space with two men she does not know.
An inventive chef named AJ (James Cusati-Moyer) and his real estate agent boyfriend, Isaac (Jeremy O. Harris, producer), welcomes the new arrival with open arms, even as an intense sense of discomfort over the stage. The forgetful hostess and her granola maybe-roomates/maybe lovers (??) starts harmlessly. There is nothing wrong with encouraging Yvonne to wake up early and catch a “brilliant” sunrise – or to refrain from her favorite comfort food and try the chef’s unusual kitchen – is there? Yvonne, still shell-shocked from tragedy and stares down a bowl with what looks like free spectrum, would beg to differ if the vibbs were not already so Poor. Does she overreact? Or do they drive?
Normality and structure can do wonders for a loved one who handles a tough time. And yet, “the true beauty of being bitten by a tick” makes the trio Nagar Yvonne work through whatever mysterious trauma is harmful to her – in most Anthropology-like fashion that can be thought more like a psychological attack. The result is vaguely related to a more queer tag on Armitage Estate from “Get out,“But can be better described as Marnie’s wedding episode from HBO’s” Girls “crossed with 2006 sci-fi horror movie, “Släder.” The second comparison transferred Gore a bit, but James Gunn Classic is a strong clue for genre -Ficionados who wants to guess at the true nature of the tick that Terror Ohs has played.
Polite proposals are transformed into silent assessment before the troublesome pressure is built to such a fine point that even the tweezers could not pull out the thorny social situation. Yvonne, who is tired of his friend, but still hungry from all that bullshit to farm to tables, storms into the garden after only a few days. It’s just a walk to clear her head, she thinks, but back on Camilles (and AJ’s and Isaac), no real self -care cannot be punished. The next morning, Yvonne looks deep into a vintage mirror as she extracts a blood -sucking free from the shoulder blade. The bit is bad. She should go to the hospital, right? Wrong. Treatment for something It has ever damage anysays her cozy catcher, is already here.
The Lyme disease usually lasts between two to four weeks when it meets with the appropriate course for antibiotics. Running a windy 80 minutes, “The real beauty of being bitten by a tick” goes faster than that – even if a small rural atmosphere goes a long way. Oh’s latest feature is not as strong as his first film (He collaborated with “Everything beautiful is far away” With Andrea Sisson 2017) and he could have used a collaborator who is willing to make more aggressive edits. Sure, it would have the potential to grind the film’s duration so far down that it can be reclassified as a short. But when it comes to not wasting the valuable resource of the time, there is no use of uninterrupted skin.
When it is boring, this wobbling story seems the longing for the writer clarity in a bee stick but still hangs on like a confused parasite. There is plenty of symbolism to unpack here, especially with regard to the role’s ever-changing queer dynamics and the philosophical collision between Yvonnne’s vulnerability and the other’s caritime critic. But what starts as a fascinating exhibition of release – anchored in a mood of elegant condemnation and indifference so good looking that it should be on a Pinterest – board – deviates to a lack of cruelty that is less compelling and not coherent.
Although one of its characters refers to the title Verbatim (which for good or bad got a big laugh from me), “the real beauty of being bitten by a tick” generally turns out useless as a dramatic issue. A peer-reviewed study from the Mayo Clinic can leave the audience with a more satisfactory, less etheric response. But OHS’s challenging new alternatives to more standard genre prices are still fun as a new and Gutsy experiment. The aesthetic has just enough scary to make you itch between scenes, and the film’s extra-Slippy leaders/writers waver between the unfortunate and calm sides of relaxation at such speed and ease that small-blown individuals should consider the bathroom.
Of course, you know what is best for you better than anyone else. This is especially true when it comes to being devoted to projects such as OHS’s bizarre creature function that dissects one -sided relationships and so -called self -care. A recipe for impatience with the wrong cinephiles but an innovative ointment to right, “the real beauty of being bitten by a tick” makes a lasting impression if it is spotted, faded and several rings shy to beat the classic tick-bit Bullsey brand.
Rating: C+
“The true beauty of being bitten by a tick” premiered at SXSW 2025.
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