Booger is billed as part comedy, part fantasy and part horror. 

 

I guess I didn’t see much comedy in it. 

 

The film, while it certainly has body horror elements to help drive the story along, feels more like a drama than anything else. At face value, it’s about a girl trying to find her dead best friend’s cat, Booger, while also seemingly turning into him.

 

Booger succeeds because it’s also telling an entirely separate story beneath the surface: one about grief and the way it can smother, suffocate, alienate and distance us from ourselves, our lives and everyone who wants to help us.

 

Lead actress Grace Glowicki gives her absolute all to the role, not only becoming Anna but also embracing her at-times gruesome transformation with gusto. The other actors also do an excellent job in supporting Anna and lending credibility and normalcy to the otherwise bizarre action.

 

The cinematography, lighting and sound effects are all terrific here: it feels like they do a whole lot with just a little. It’s clearly not a big budget film, yet the attention to detail satisfies all the senses and delivers an effective punch. 

 

I found myself ready to cringe if the story ever got grosser, but thankfully it stopped just shy of turning my stomach. Though scenes of Anna greedily eating canned cat food or horking up a hairball may be unpleasant, they are a metaphor for the anguish she is feeling after her best friend and roommate’s tragic death.

 

There are touching moments here, especially between Anna and her best friend’s mom who counsels her about letting out her sadness instead of holding it in to rot and fester. 

 

If I have one complaint, it’s that the ending wrapped up the story in too neat of a bow. I was pleased to see a satisfying resolution to Anna’s story, but perhaps it was a little too Hollywood-happy to be realistic. 

 

Still, Booger kept my interest and continually surprised me. It’s definitely worth a watch for anyone who loves cats, horror or movies with deeper meaning than what is evident from the surface.