Gummo 1997

A young boy named Solomon serves as the narrator, recounting the harrowing events of a tornado that struck the modest town of Xenia, Ohio. Among the unusual sights during this time is a mute boy, referred to as Bunny Boy, who can be seen wearing only his pink bunny ears, shorts, and tennis shoes while standing on an overpass drenched in rain.

Among Solomon’s acquaintances is Tummler, played by Jacob Sewell, who disturbingly drowns a cat in a barrel of water. The storyline shifts to Tummler in a wrecked car, sharing intimate moments with a girl, only for him to discover a lump on her breast, which distracts him from his romantic advances. Later, Solomon describes Tummler as a boy marked by a “marvelous persona,” yet many label him as “downright evil.”

When Tummler aims an air rifle at a cat, Solomon intervenes, insisting that it’s a housecat deserving of protection. As they depart, the camera follows the cat back home to its owners—a trio of sisters, including two teenagers and a younger girl. Moments later, the narrative returns to Tummler and Solomon, who embark on a hunt for feral cats, delivering their captures to a local grocer with the intent of selling them to a restaurant. The grocer reveals they are not alone in their cat-killing endeavors, prompting Tummler and Solomon to purchase glue for huffing, seeking a temporary escape.

The film then cuts to a chaotic scene where two foul-mouthed boys, dressed as cowboys, rampage through a junkyard, eventually encountering Bunny Boy. In a cruel twist of play, they “shoot” him dead with cap guns, rummaging through his pockets and discarding one of his shoes before losing interest and leaving him on the ground.

Solomon and Tummler soon discover a local boy named Jarrod Wiggley, who is sabotaging their cat population by poisoning them instead of shooting them. In an attempt to confront him, they don masks and arm themselves before breaking into Jarrod’s house, where they stumble upon unsettling photos of him in drag and the sight of his elderly, comatose grandmother. Tummler, expressing disdain for the situation, pushes the boundaries of morality by turning off her life support.

The film is interspersed with various striking vignettes: an intoxicated man making advances at a gay dwarf, a despicable man exploiting his disabled sister, and unsettling encounters with an elderly child molester. We also see moments of social interaction as twin boys sell candy door-to-door, a conversation with a tennis player coping with ADHD, and a derisive portrayal of young children at a drunken party.

As the story unfolds to the backdrop of “Crying” by Roy Orbison, a song Tummler associates with his transsexual sibling, the film nears its climax. In a dismal display, Solomon and Tummler take turns shooting the sisters’ cat with their air rifles, juxtaposed with chaotic scenes of Bunny Boy sharing kisses with teenage girls in a swimming pool. The absurdity crescendos when Bunny Boy, holding a dead cat, runs towards the camera through a field, breaking the fourth wall with his presentation.

The narrative concludes on a poignant note, featuring a girl who had earlier shaved her eyebrows. She is seen singing “Jesus Loves Me” next to her mother (or sister), as the film fades to black with the instruction for her to “dial it down” and prepare for bed.