Director: Mary Dauterman
Screenplay: Mary Dauterman
Starring: Grace Glowicki, Garrick Bernard, Heather Matarazzo, Marcia DeBonis, Sofia Dobrushin
Country: United States
Running time: 78 min
Year: 2023
BBFC Certificate: 15
Arrow Video are renowned for releasing well known cult films, and the occasional blockbuster fare. From Japanese J-Horror to Italian giallo, Hong Kong martial arts, to works of auteurs like Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and much more in between, their collection covers a vast, eclectic array of films. But they’re also known for championing more recent independent films, releasing debuts or early releases from a range of directors, mostly in the horror and sci-fi categories.
Booger falls into the latter category, and is the feature directorial debut of Mary Dauterman, previously known for a series of short films. The body horror film, which also displays some comedic moments, debuted in the ‘underground’ section of the Fantasia International Film Festival, before having a limited theatrical release.
The film focuses on Anna (Grace Glowicki) who, whilst mourning the sudden death of her best friend and roommate Izzy (Sofia Dobrushin), is bitten by their pet cat Booger who runs away after drawing blood and the bite leading to a bizarre bodily transformation in our main character.
Booger opens with camera footage of Anna and Izzy hanging out with their cat in flashback sequences, before we get to know Anna in the present, grieving the loss of her friend, preparing for the memorial service, struggling to pay her rent and bills, getting chased about work she hasn’t done, and growing ever further apart from her boyfriend Max (Garrick Bernard). These opening scenes set the scene for the film and give us all we need to know about Anna and why she’s feeling the way she is.
Very early on, Anna is bitten by Booger, who has so far been front and centre or in the background of the opening scenes as an ever present and slightly menacing presence. Immediately after the attack, Booger runs away and the bite begins to have a huge transformational effect on Anna.
First and foremost, Booger is a character study of how our main character, Anna, deals with grief, using body horror and felines as symbols for how she is dealing with loss. Although Izzy has passed before the film begins, the character is an ever present though rarely seen presence, mentioned by each of the characters, appearing in brief phone footage or through photos in social media posts or physical photo albums, all of which are used to remind us of her impact on those around her and give a sense of what she, and her loss, mean to Anna.
There’s a welcome small role for Heather Matarazzo as petshop worker Ellen, almost 30 years after her debut as a 12-year-old as the lead in Todd Solondz’s Welcome to the Dollhouse. Matarazzo brings lightness to the film and has some of the funniest comedic moments, as well as a brief bizarre sequence late on.
But whilst this pair and other supporting actors perform their parts well, this is very much Glowicki’s film. Her Anna is in every scene whilst other characters pop up here and there in brief interactions or through mobile phone calls or old camera phone footage. Glowicki gives a tour-de-force performance, effortlessly portraying her character’s grief as well as the heightened senses and other transformations that take place after she is bitten.
Those transformations are a disgusting sight to see, from the wound pulsating to Anna coughing up frequent hairballs, like a cat, because she grooms her hair like a cat does its fur, and getting a taste for rats. The bite also leads to Anna experiencing strange dreams and nightmares, that are brought to life to great effect. The dreams get increasingly weird as the film goes on, and more visually arresting as a result, with some striking shots like Anna lying on what looks like the fur covered back of a giant Booger. These sequences also begin to seep into reality as the film approaches its climax, and these are amongst the strangest moments in the film.
The transformations Anna undergoes are symbolic of the all-consuming effect grief can have and of her losing her grip on reality as she struggles to cope with her world falling apart; her friend has died, and her job, home and relationship are all at risk and getting ever more precarious as she retreats into herself and her bodily changes as the film progresses.
The score is unnerving, ratcheting up the tension, creating a sense of urgency and dread, and the use of sound is also used perfectly, particularly at the moments when Anna’s cat-like changes come to the forefront.
In closing, I really enjoyed Booger, it’s a fun body horror tale, and a character study, very much focused on how Anna, but also those around her, are dealing with grief and the loss of Izzy. It’s beautifully shot, well acted and grows increasingly unsettling as the effects of the bite become ever more apparent. The dream-like sequences become more elaborate as time passes, and I also particularly liked the closing moments, which really resonated with me.
Film: 
Booger is released on limited edition Blu-ray by Arrow Video on 7th April 2025. The picture quality is incredibly strong, fine details are clear, best seen in some of the transformational sequences where fur and hair play a big part, colours are vivid and the image generally looks great throughout. The audio is also very good, which is important for such a film where music, and sound in particular, play such a huge role.
Limited edition Blu-ray contents:
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
- Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- A Different Breed of Female Feline, a new video essay by film critic Kat Hughes
- Curiosity Kills: A History of the Cat and Death, a new video essay by writer Alexandra West
- Trailer
- Image galleries
- Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring writing by Becky Darke and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
- Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned and previously unreleased artwork by Rose Whittaker and Aleksandra Waliszewska
A Different Breed of Female Feline, is a great, particularly for this cat lover, albeit brief, at nine minutes, new video essay by film critic Kat Hughes. It looks at the link between women and cats, and how feline traits are used to convey the deep, consuming experience of grief. Hughes looks at some of the other films which have featured cats, going back to 1932’s Island of Lost Souls, and moving through the likes of 1992’s Tim Burton comic book film Batman Returns, and the same year’s Sleepwalkers, written by Stephen King and directed by Mick Garris, and looks at how Booger subverts the norm. It’s a really interesting piece.
Curiosity Kills: A History of the Cat and Death, is another welcome new video essay, this time running for 13 minutes and by writer Alexandra West. It briefly looks at the history of cats on and off screen, and in particular looking at Booger’s take on the mythology and the effect cats have on humans, as well as a whistlestop look at the history of loss. It’s another informative and well thought out essay.
The one-minute trailer gives a brief but decent overview of what to expect from the film.
Rounding out the on-disc package are three photo galleries, one of 25 fun polaroids taken during the filming, a further 123 dubbed ‘disposables’ which are also a range of photos taken during the shooting, and, finally, 34 behind the scenes stills.
I wasn’t provided with the booklet, unfortunately.
So, it’s a smaller than usual selection of extras from Arrow, but the two visual essays are both excellent and well worth a watch.
Arrow have again brought an independent film debut gem to limited edition Blu-ray, in Booger. I really enjoyed the film and, though slight in number and length, the on-disc extras add value to the movie and are well produced.
Disc/Package: