“Booger” combines body horror tropes with a winning comedic script and fine performances by a cast of indie actors. It opens today at the Quad Cinema in NYC (and also in LA) and is available now on video on demand. The director and cast members will appear for Q&A’s after the 7 p.m. Quad screenings on September 13, 14 and 17. Go here for showtimes and tickets.

Young Brooklynite Anna (Grace Glowicki) is mourning the loss of her goofy roommate Izzy (Sofia Dobrushin), when she is bitten by Izzy’s cat Booger. As Anna searches desperately for the pet, she views videos she has found on Izzy’s cellphone which document the quirky, fun moments they had together, including the discovery of Booger, an abandoned black cat. Before the feline escaped it bit Anna on the hand and she begins to believe that she is turning into a cat herself: she coughs up hairballs, imagines catching a rat and enjoys cats of pet food. Her boyfriend Max (Garrick Bernard) is confused by her odd behavior, charting it up to just grief. Izzy’s mom Joyce (Marcia DeBonis), busy organizing a memorial for her daughter, keeps misreading Anna’s complaints.

Mary Dauterman’s writing & directorial feature debut is both mysterious and lots of fun. Despite a low budget, the dream sequences she films are spooky, effective and feature fine art direction. Her script moves at a fast pace (the film is only 78 minutes long) and the gags land with splendid timing. But what makes this indie film shine is the acting. Glowicki, Dobrushin and Bernard (sounds like a law firm!) deliver finely detailed performances and veteran actor Marcia DeBonis steals every scene she is in. And indie icon Heather Matarazzo (“Welcome of the Dollhouse”) is delightful in a cameo as a pet shop owner.

The soundtrack is a little too busy at times but cover versions of the karaoke standard “Piña Colada” work well as a recurrent comic plot point. I would never name a cat “Booger.” I once saw a cat missing poster for a pet named “Fatso” and thought, “Of course he ran away–look what you named him!”