Kristoffer Borgli creates a biting comedy of horrific proportions, as he explores narcissism in all its ugly glory.

The film follows Signe, an aspiring painter who constantly struggles to wrestle attention away from her much more successful partner. After saving the life of dog attack victim at work – and coming off the high of being praised for her actions – she decides to research a way to disfigure herself, deciding that being a victim and surviving the trauma is a success story her sculptor boyfriend simply can’t beat.

While Signe, played beautifully by Kristine Kujath Thorp, is an abhorrent mess, she isn’t without sympathy. Eirik Sæther as Signe’s boyfriend, Thomas, seems to goad her at every opportunity and despite being just as insufferable as his girlfriend, he doesn’t catch nearly as much heat. From the beginning the film implies her vanity stems from a feeling of invisibility next to her male counterpart. Signe has to make herself feel physically sick, injure herself in order to take control of a room. Thomas just needs to speak up. It’s a subtle antagonism on display and I’m all here for it.

However, if the main message of this film was “toxic women really do have it hard” it would be insultingly skin deep. Instead, narcissism is portrayed as a self-destructive and malignant illness which festers inside the body. A side effect from defective pills she orders from Russia through her dealer, the skin lesions on Signe’s body begin as comical, yet aesthetically pleasing accessories to her act. But as they weep, bleed and swell, seemingly in response to her increasing lies, they force the film to take a sharp turn towards the grotesque and into the realm of gore and body horror. Her paranoid delusions often lead her away from seeking help. For example she aborts a brain scan simply because a vision tells her that the doctor will somehow deduce her nasty little secret and threaten to call the police. These visions are absurd and at times, hilarious but in the mind of a narcissist, they are all too reasonable.

The film has its dark touches but is ultimately a comedy. I had to keep from laughing too loud as there were a few morning stragglers like myself, but believe me when I say it was a challenge. Slight spoilers ahead…but I never thought in my life I would see a sex scene and a funeral juxtaposed so brilliantly. That’s the great thing about Borgli’s direction: it’s shocking, downright nasty even, but it’s never crass. The gut punches are sudden, but they are not without warning. However, there are one or two moments where I feel things went too far or were a bit too on the nose. The selfie in the hospital, while funny, felt the obvious choice despite the film being up until that point quite reserved with its satire. And while the detox retreat was the perfect hell for narcissistic undesirables like Signe, I felt its dismissal of invisible disabilities to be in poor taste; and that’s coming from some one with a very visible one.

Sick of Myself is at once playful and horrifying yet never feels garish or simplistic in its portrayal of rotten people. So, I for one was ecstatic to learn that Dream Scenario is already on its way to theatres and looks just as insane.

That’s all from me! Hopefully I’ll have more reviews in the future so stay posted!