Director Addison Heimann (Hypochondriac) has put collectively one of many weirdest and most hilarious films of the yr. Referred to as Contact Me, the psychosexual horror-comedy stars Oliva Taylor Dudley, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jordan Gavaris, Marlene Forte, and Paget Brewster. Contact Me premieres on January 28 at 10:15 p.m. MT at The Ray Theatre as a part of Sundance 2025’s Midnight Part.
“In Contact Me, after a sequence of unlucky occasions leaves their home uninhabitable and reeking of poo, two co-dependent associates, Joey and Craig, discover themselves homeless and out of choices. That’s when Joey’s mysterious ex resurfaces. He desires her again. Together with being sizzling, Brian additionally occurs to be an alien whose contact makes anxiousness and melancholy disappear. The 2 enterprise to his compound for the weekend with the hope of being healed from previous traumas, however beneath Brian’s veneer of therapeutic is a sinister plot stuffed with homicide, mayhem, and blood. Contact Me is an psychosexual horror-comedy concerning the nature of co-dependent friendships and the way far we’re prepared to go for a slice of happiness,” reads the official description.
Tyler Treese: I needed to congratulate you on having probably the primary film to have a werewolf dildo monster.
Addison Heimann: Thanks.
Contact Me has a really humorous humorousness. Are you able to communicate to the tone you discovered for this? As a result of it simply consistently shocked me. I had such a enjoyable time watching it.
Oh, thanks.
Properly, actually, I believe it simply comes from my very own very traumatic childhood and in addition identical to view on the world of people that endure from… I’ve OCD, and so individuals who endure from this. The one approach to actually type of take care of it on this means and is have this type of morose humor.
But in addition the complete film is type of like my love letter to pink movies of the seventies and Japanese movie. And people films are like balls to the wall. Loopy. Like saturated shade, identical to combat scenes, identical to bizarre intercourse. All simply madness.
I grew to become obsessive about that after I began studying Japanese 5 years in the past. I needed to type of hybridize like my love for the cinema of that period and my very own type of bizarre private humor and look at on how I type of take care of my psychological sickness stuff. And that was the way it was created and born.
You talked about the bizarre intercourse. There’s positively a whole lot of that in Contact Me. How is it filming these cross-species intercourse scenes? As a result of what presumably prepares you for doing such bizarre issues with tentacles? What was your strategy?
Yeah. you understand, it’s so humorous how type of like technical intercourse scenes are in films, particularly type of alien intercourse scenes. Particularly alien intercourse scenes are very technical. However as a result of we had been doing like fully you understand, sensible results, it was like all palms on deck.
Additionally we had a rigger to love pull Olivia and [Jordan Gavaris] into the air and have the tentacles type of round. I want there was a BTS of this, however mainly like you understand, there’s the digital camera as we’re like slowly going, after which there’s like two folks over right here. One with the distant management tentacle working a puppet tentacle within the again, shifting it over there as my cinematographer is taking these bizarre lenses and type of identical to shoving them in entrance of the factor. All whereas my superb actress Olivia is attempting to promote this concept of being euphoric with an alien.
Happily, we had a very unbelievable intimacy coordinator, Sasha Smith, who helped us do all of that as effectively. We’re all attempting to do these like various things and in addition hold our actors secure, but additionally make it attractive on the identical time. And Sasha was in a position to do all the pieces on the identical time and ensure we had been all there. But it surely was so humorous the way it identical to, “Okay, effectively, like Olivia’s bare, or we’re doing this stuff,” and everyone’s simply so targeted and simply ensuring, like, the digital camera’s okay. And we’re all actually respectful, however it finally ends up coming alive within the edit.
You talked about Olivia Taylor Dudley. I needed to ask about her as a result of she’s the lead of Contact Me and she or he’s requested to actually go for it and she or he fully does it. How was it getting her on board? And had been you shocked she was prepared to go all the way in which there for each single scene? It’s nice.
She happened it in an fascinating means. I had an actress that was hooked up to it that I wrote it for. [She] booked one other gig, and sadly needed to drop out. So Olivia really got here fairly late to the sport, and we had been a month out from capturing, and she or he was about to go shoot one other film.
My producer, Dave, was like, “I believe Olivia likes bizarre.” And so he texted her and was like, “Do you want bizarre? Do you want technical intercourse?” And she or he was like, “These are buzzwords. Would you prefer to ship me the script?”
And so she learn the script, and we met an hour later. We didn’t know one another. It was a kind of issues the place we type of need to make the choice actually rapidly, however we bonded over our shared OCD and we talked for some time about that. Then I used to be like, “okay, yeah, you’re on board, you wanna do the film?” And she or he was like, “hell yeah. “
She went away for a month, did one other film, and she or he got here again. That first day — in order that first opening monologue — that’s like eight minutes? That was her first take. First day. So she got here proper about identical to swinging. I might work along with her once more in a heartbeat. A
She’s additionally an government producer on the film as a result of finally that was it, proper? While you’re doing one thing like this and I’m asking you to do all this stuff, I can’t assist however offer you inventive assist to create this film and create the look and have some company and inventive management of over this. And she or he was wildly useful. She was with us from the shoot by the edit, by all the design stuff. [She] helped form it. I owed that to her as a result of I requested her to do loopy.
I’m glad you talked about the opening scene in Contact Me as a result of I needed to ask about that as a result of she tells this very lengthy story about an alien encounter. It’s largely the digital camera’s simply shot on her face, zooming in. It’s a really lengthy shot. What made you wanna begin that means? As a result of it actually sucked me in. And that’s a credit score to actually her efficiency and her storytelling there. It’s an excellent scene.
Yeah, thanks.
There’s like one million ways in which might have gone very incorrect, you understand?
Oh, belief me, I acquired questions on it. Individuals had been like, “Are you positive?” And I’m identical to, “Mm-hmm. Yep.”
Finally the whole thing of this film is a giant swing after massive swing after massive swing that might both succeed or it might fail. And I needed to do it as a result of I watched this film Resurrection – that Rebecca Corridor is the star of – and the monologue in there may be about midway by. I keep in mind watching that film as a result of I used to be engrossed by it. However the complete time, you’re like, “What did this man do to her?” After which she offers the monologue and it’s a single take. By no means cuts away. And she or he tells probably the most unhealthy factor you’ve ever heard in your life to somebody who goes, “is that this a joke?”
And I used to be like, “That’s a number of the coolest…” Then the film retains going.
That was one of the arresting moments for me that I’ve ever seen in cinema. I needed to recreate that. And I began with it as a substitute of doing it midway by.
I believe one thing I discovered within the filmmaking is it’s alleged to be arrange as if it’s not actual, and then you definitely discover out that it’s actual. However I believe I’ve realized that with the film, whenever you get the outline, it’s like everybody’s gonna know that it’s an precise alien.
However you’re proper, it’s actually a testomony to Olivia’s efficiency. And like I mentioned, it was her first take, first day. And I’m so grateful for her as a result of I believe, yeah, she’s a giant a part of how she offered it. And you understand, I believe additionally the film is so wild or will get so wild by the tip that all the pieces in that monologue preps you for the remainder of the film. And that’s type of my impetus of wanting to begin that means.
Yeah, that’s an excellent level. I’m glad you talked about Resurrection. I didn’t put these two collectively, however now I can completely see that throughline. That movie is simply loopy as effectively. It’s great.
Additionally, I actually love the concept that aliens simply all put on tracksuits. The place did you provide you with this?
I have to lie and be like, “Yeah, that is…” However I actually simply thought it was humorous. Like, I actually want it was identical to, “Oh, yeah, there was a pal I knew who all the time wore tracksuits and did hip-hop dancing.” [But] it’s like an alien who’s like an alien, but additionally does that Lilo and Sew factor the place they attempt to act like folks.
Brian’s model of that’s to love all the time put on like completely different multicolored observe fits and study hip hop dancing. And like, that’s his model of “being regular” and in addition eats like hen tenders and french fries. As a result of additionally basically he’s identical to a baby at coronary heart. And that’s type of the place that the place that got here from.
I like it. It’s so enjoyable seeing his completely different tracksuits all through this. What was the genesis for Contact Me? Did you are interested in aliens? What sparked this glorious weirdness?
There’s this film I watched after I was within the deep darkish melancholy known as The Untamed, which was a couple of type of alien that folks go to. And I used to be so unhappy and I used to be like, I would like that to occur to me. Like, that’s what I actually need, you understand?
I’ve been studying Japanese for 5 years, and I used to be actually entrenched within the cinema of the seventies. And clearly that’s all part of that type of world. I couldn’t make my anxiousness and melancholy go away, and I needed to make use of that and discover.
And so after I, after I type of created this character, I used to be additionally going by like a fairly devastating friendship breakup on the time. Nobody talks about friendship breakups. It’s like, “Oh, they suck,” and so they can actually harm. And so I needed to make a film that explored psychological sickness and in addition be like a wild tentacle alien intercourse romp world the place I might simply make you snicker and make you assume. But in addition actually make you may have enjoyable and go on this wild experience. And that type of all glommed on and thus was the genesis for the film.
You’ve talked about trauma and studying Japanese. While you watch Contact Me, clearly a lot of that’s you, and comes from you. And also you’ve written and directed each of your movies up to now. How is that simply expertise of actually placing your self into these items of artwork? Feeling courageous sufficient to share that every one with the world? As a result of I might be terrified.
It’s true. After I was rising up and going by all these things, I used to be all the time afraid to speak about it after which slowly grew to become an open e book about it. And I believe artwork has a approach to create group in the kind of means that like that I like. And after I made my first film, I discovered that very, very gratifying and really cathartic. As a result of it’s about my psychological breakdown. It was my first one, and it was like, folks would come and discuss to me and they want regale me with their tales, and we’d type of discover group in the concept that all of us really feel type of much less alone.
And I believe if I can like volunteer as tribute in an effort to simply discuss, and it’s additionally therapeutic for me as a result of I believe I’m gonna spend my total type of profession deep diving into this like, nebulous world of psychological crap that I’ve been pressured to take care of.
If I can put it in a means that feels palatable to be seen, if I could make you snicker, if I could make you possibly cry or like say, “ew”… If I might do all this stuff, and on the identical time entertain you and we will have a dialog about it. What’s humorous is the quantity of people that I’ve talked to this film about after which like come up. I’ve like discovered the group of people that have OCD.
It’s so humorous as a result of it’s such like an invisible [disorder] – like nobody is aware of. Nobody is aware of learn how to essentially talk that as a result of a whole lot of it exists like in your head and also you cover a whole lot of it. So if I can, it’s terrifying, clearly. However I additionally love the quantity of group that it fosters when any individual else might come to me and discuss their very own due to one thing that I’ve completed. And that’s very significant to me.
One in every of my favourite scenes in Contact Me is a flashback sequence. This man’s on Grindr, however it’s offered as a silent movie. What led to that aesthetic selection? I’d love to listen to extra about that. That simply cracked me up a lot.
Yeah, no, it makes me snicker too.
Truthfully, it’s twofold. One, it’s nonetheless focusing on outdated Common Monster films and in addition Japanese monster films, like Godzilla. The entire 4:3 facet ratio. However as a result of it was such a contemporary context, we had been like, “If we’re gonna shoot a black-and-white sequence, how can we’ve got telephones on this film?”
I used to be like, “Properly, what if we did silent movie information as Grindr notifications?” After which everyone was like, “That’s the funniest factor I’ve ever heard.” And I used to be like, “I actually hope this works.” And it tickles me lots, I believe.
I really feel like a whole lot of it is rather like, “Why?” As a result of I assumed it was so humorous. Like, that’s basically why. As a result of it simply made me snicker. And that complete sequence is simply again in time monster film aesthetic. We do the Psycho music, and naturally we will’t use a telephone, so we’re gonna do a silent foam block as a substitute.
My final query for you, what does it imply so that you can be displaying this movie at Sundance and for this pageant to actually be celebrating such distinctive and strange movies like yours?
It’s type of euphoric in a means I can’t describe. Like, we acquired into Sundance. And I’m like, “I knew it.” And I’m like, “No, you didn’t.”
Nobody simply will get into Sundance, and also you’re like, “Yeah, I deserve it. Like, I deserve Sundance.”
I’m simply actually grateful to the programmers. And to be trustworthy, shocked that they’re selecting to program this bizarre little story like mine. And what’s even crazier is like Adam Montgomery – who did our little blurb on Sundance – acquired the film actual. They understood it in a means that I didn’t anticipate like anyone to, ’trigger you do one thing and go, “This may go over lots of people’s heads, I don’t know.” However they acquired it in a means that and I’m like, Anne Hathaway, profitable an Oscar.
It got here true. It truly is that factor the place I’m like – I’ll most likely by no means get this once more. And clearly, it’s nerve-wracking, and there are all these stakes to it.
However on the identical time, I made an ascendance that’s so loopy. And I can put that in my bucket. My little feather in my hat. And that’ll take me at the least till subsequent yr after which I’ll get unhappy once more. However that to me, I imply, it means the world.
Due to Addison Heimann for taking the time to speak about Contact Me. Extra information might be discovered on Sundance’s website.
