An itch can be maddening. Now imagine waking up with one you cannot scratch away. In ¡PIKA! (The Itch), director Alex Fischman Cárdenas turns that familiar irritation into a darkly funny, unsettling trip through the streets of Lima. A search for relief soon becomes something much bigger.

Lucas, played by Jose Medina, needs a topical cream to stop the itching. The problem is that he cannot afford it. When a pharmacist offers another way to cover the cost, Lucas is pulled into the local criminal underworld and the illegal organ trade.

A Sensory Trip Into Anxiety

The film grew out of a screenplay by Trout Cohen, originally about a man with an itch on his chest. Years later, while dealing with depression, Fischman recognized the story as a fitting metaphor for the feeling of being unable to escape your own discomfort. That idea gives ¡PIKA! its restless energy. Lucas’s journey gets harder, while the world feels increasingly hostile.

Shot at night in Lima, the film has a gritty, lived-in look. Cinematographer Mika Altskan and production designer Renzo Bazan create worn, dirty spaces that feel unreal. Sound is equally important. Nikolay Antonov’s design often lets us hear a place before we see it, pulling us into Lucas’s confusion. Meanwhile, Ben Schwaeber’s editing keeps the story moving without losing its anxious, offbeat humour.

An Uncomfortable Ride With a Payoff

There is plenty of body horror here, but ¡PIKA! is not grim for the sake of it. Its warped humour makes Lucas’s desperate situation uncomfortable and oddly entertaining. Teresa Ralli also brings unexpected warmth to the role of his mother, adding an emotional note amid the chaos.

The short premiered at the Sitges Film Festival and later screened at Sundance, Palm Springs ShortFest and Melbourne International, before becoming a Vimeo Staff Pick. It is a wild little film that gets under your skin, then makes you wonder how long it will take to feel normal again.