There are few things as frightening in this world as an androgynous tickle monster living in a lake. Try your best, and I doubt you will be able to come up with anything quite as scary, intense or in-your-face as non-consentual creature tickling. It is within this nightmare scenario that “The Caress of the Creature” resides.
Telling the tale of a bunch of muscular construction workers in wife-beaters who, while blowing up a lake for later development, disturb the natural habitat of the Tickle-Creature, “The Caress of the Creature” is one over-the-top comedic gem. Shot in black and white and acted in the same manner as those old school Universal creature-features, the short film starts with an absurd premise, and then takes it all the way through to perfection, homaging classic films while delivering something highly original. For all its silliness, however, the most absurd humor is mined from the homophobia rampant in the construction crew team, and the small town threatened by a guy-or-girl creature with a penchant for tickling.
This is the type of short film that short films exist for, a brilliant joke told in the perfect amount of time, never overstaying its welcome. Keep you eye on the festival circuit, hope this finds its way online or some other easily distributed format and SEE THIS FILM! You’ll be a better person for it, and I’ll respect you more.
