Insectasy had its world premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival yesterday and I would’ve loved to have been in the room when it screened. Not only as a witness to everyone’s reactions, but also as a participant. Writer and director Angus Silver wastes no time dropping his audience into the bizarre and sensual world he’s created. In the film’s opening, Sadie (Tirion Healy) is laid on her bed listening to erotica through her earphones while masturbating—but she has a cockroach in a jar, one she frees as she’s about to climax, and then splats with her hand when she does. Afterwards, the insect lays dead in a tissue on the table, its legs sticking up in the air. It’s a very striking visual that hasn’t left my mind since I saw it.
Sadie’s world is dull and isolated. She works as a receptionist at a doctor’s office, but gets her thrills from her erotic fascination with insects. Sadie is bored by her friend Genevieve’s (Kelsey Thompson) relationship problems and her work friend’s (Emmett Roiko) awkward attempt to seduce her resulted in a deeply underwhelming experience. Sadie also meets pet store owner Julius (Jan Roeth), who has his own fascination with insects, as well as alluring employee Honey (Lyndall Huber), but can anyone truly match her freak? Sadie has dreamy fantasies that interrupt her daily life, but show us how connected she is to her sexuality. It’s a creative way to show her interiority, one that seeks desire and escapism. On the outside, Sadie is reserved and compliant, but on the inside she possesses unrestrained lust and even violence, which eventually burst out of her.
Inspired by erotic thrillers of the 1970s, Insectasy juxtaposes the sterility of contemporary life with the transgression of eroticism. Silver isn’t afraid to depict or explore the taboo as he shows scenes in which Sadie essentially fucks insects in different ways. In one scene, Sadie puts a cricket inside a bong and places the opening by her vagina. When the insect doesn’t move, she takes a lighter to the glass which results in orgasmic ecstasy. At some point, Honey declares that women can’t be perverts. “No matter how disgusting or depraved a woman is, there’s always some man out in the world that likes it.” But is everyone all talk? Sadie is surrounded by people who talk constantly about sex, but seem to lack true eroticism. In our post-pandemic landscape, people are more isolated and disconnected than ever, which is why being inside Sadie’s unbridled sexual fantasies—no matter how depraved—is actually a refreshing treat.
Despite its content, Insectasy is visually beautiful. It’s soft with a subdued palette and gorgeous lighting shot by cinematographer James Jeffery. The fantasy scenes also feel perfectly dreamy and otherworldly, a distinct difference from Sadie’s monotonous reality. Whether they’re on flowers, in jars, or on skin, there are so many fantastic close-up shots of the insects which makes us feel close to them. The filmmaking around Sadie’s sexual exploits with the insects is also excellent, with sexy and tasteful nudity as Silver explores themes of desire, fantasy, and pleasure. It’s provocative, engaging, and unique, with dark, offbeat humour. The sound design is also interesting, filled with rhythmic insect-inspired sounds alongside the alluring ASMR-like erotica Sadie listens to, all of which continuously set the film’s tone. The acting is occasionally shaky but is sufficient, with lead star Healy as the stand out. The weakest part of the film is the dialogue. It certainly captures the stale aspects of modern life as characters make small talk about COVID and oestrogen in the water supply. With a run time of only 83 minutes, some of those moments became tedious, but outside of them, the film excelled and is a truly fascinating, if not sometimes uncomfortable, experience.
Intestacy has the off-kilter tone of Lucky McKee’s May, with themes of pleasure, fantasy, and eroticism as Sadie uses the taboo to fight the status quo. It’s a film for perverts who are consumed by the weight of their own desire. It’s also for anyone who is as horny for insects as Sadie is. But its themes of desire, fantasy, and pleasure
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