SXSW Review: The Unnerving Peculiarity of ‘The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick’

Sometimes people just need to get away from the city, and the reason for that departure may not matter once they’ve been introduced to the quiet tranquility of the country. It may be immediately clear what appeals to residents and visitors alike about not being surrounded by chaos – and convenience – and living a more relaxed existence. But there can also be something nefarious buried underneath, making everyone act strangely but never discussing it. In The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick, one woman seeks solace but finds something deeply unnerving which she can’t exactly identify or pinpoint.

Yvonne (Zoë Chao) arrives at the home of her friend Camille (Callie Hernandez), devastated about the death of her dog and looking to forget all about the pain. She’s surprised to learn that Camille’s realtor A.J. (Jeremy O. Harris) and his partner Isaac (James Cusati-Moyer) are also staying with Camille, which makes the experience less intimate and free-flowing than Yvonne had hoped. While they’re both nice to her – Isaac cooks lavish meals using fresh local ingredients and A.J. raves about the “resplendent” sunrise and sunset – she senses that something is deeply off, and getting bitten by a tick only adds to her nervous state, which Camille assures her is just a matter of getting used to the place.

This is director Pete Ohs’ first time at SXSW since his 2022 entry Jethica, also starring Hernandez, a marvelously creative exploration of life and death that made fantastic use of its unconventional premise. Like that film, this one includes the entire cast as co-screenwriters with Ohs, making for a very natural flow to the film, even if the conversations that do come up are anything but normal. It’s as if everything that Camille, A.J., and Isaac say is meant to be warm and welcoming, but there’s something just off-kilter enough to make Yvonne wonder whether she should actually stay or get going back to her busier life in the city.

While this film saves its key revelation for much later in the film than in the case of Jethica, it does make spectacular use of its sound. Yvonne wanders outside on numerous occasions to check on noises she hears and things she thinks she sees, but it starts even before that. From the first bite of soup that Yvonne tastes with Isaac staring at her and prompting her to compliment him on it, the distaste in her mouth can be felt by audiences thanks to the way they hear it go down her throat. It’s a device used throughout the film that serves to enhance the viewing experience and to put audiences in Yvonne’s shoes, listening all the more closely to each potentially meaningless sound to extract meaning from it.

Chao, previously at Sundance with If You Were the Last and frequently seen on television in shows like The Afterparty and Party Down, transitions to something much more serious here as someone who is distinctly unhappy and isn’t being made to feel any better by her new surroundings. She’s more than up for the challenge of this prickly part, and it’s interesting and unnerving to watch as Yvonne slowly begins to understand and accept her situation. Hernandez dons a convincing Australian accent to make Camille feel even more free-flowing, adding comedy to a character that could have been more stoic on the page. Harris and Cusati-Moyer complete the ensemble with committed performances as all-too-serene housemates with particular triggers that come up throughout the film. Along with his cast, Ohs delivers something that’s thought-provoking but ultimately leaves something to be desired, searching for answers to its mystery that it does eventually find but doesn’t fully embellish.

Movie Rating: 6/10