Gordon Phillips’ The Itch is a pretty nasty bit of body horror. The short film includes some impressive special effects as the main character’s body decays over the runtime. Yet, the short leaves one too many unanswered questions that may leave some viewers feeling unfulfilled.
The film stars Nate Nagvajara as Will. Trapped in an apartment and under surveillance, Will relies on strange vaccines to slow down the decay. Yet, it’s unclear for most of the film who’s watching Will, who provided the vaccines, and why Will is subject to such a slow and painful death. By the conclusion, the film never fully answers all of these points, though some of the cryptic plot details are filled in late in the runtime.
Meanwhile, the film counts down each day, nearly to the hour, that Will has been infected. By the end, he looks like a rotting corpse and there are some truly stomach-churning sequences in this, including a moment where Will takes a knife to his flesh. I won’t spoil what happens after that. Regardless, it’s a race against time, and Will is losing.
While struggling to save himself, Will frequently barks and yells at the camera watching him and someone named Roger (John Potvin), who does show up in the final minute or two. It’s evident these two harbor real animosity towards each other. However, even once Roger appears, the full extent of their hatred towards each other isn’t clear, nor are Roger’s motives. That said, the film does have one heck of an ending that almost makes up for the lack of clearer narrative details.
If body horror is your thing, then The Itch is worth a watch. While a lot of the plot details are left too unresolved, the film does showcase some wild special effects, coupled with some real grossout moments. This short proves that Phillips has talent as a writer and director. I just wish this short provided a little more clarity.
