A comedy centred around two women repeatedly beating the living shit out of each other doesn’t sound all that appealing on paper but I’ll be damned if Anne Heche and Sandra Oh don’t make it work. I went into Catfight not really knowing what to expect but found it to be a pleasingly odd and violent slice of leftfield satire.

Smartly structured around three episodes and time periods that alternatively focus on each character and then both of them, the film could easily feel repetitive and arduous but somehow the repetition works in its favour, making the film all the more absurd. It has a Todd Solondz vibe (Dylan Baker shows up in a doctor’s coat so maybe that’s why) and stubbornly makes sense only by its own daffy logic. There’s certain pleasures to be had with a movie that repeatedly shocks you while also making you laugh. This is one of those movies. 

Catfight is a batty, bloody comedy of violence in the Tom & Jerry – or perhaps more aptly Itchy & Scratchy – trend. Both actresses take a big old bite of the material and clearly have their heart set on making a half-serious statement about…something. Quite unique.

Watched Arrow blu-ray