Fancy a fresh set of nails? Caitlin McCarthy’s animated acrylic body horror might make you think again

London-based animator Caitlin McCarthy usually works in commercials, but she loves to make her own stuff too – “mostly to remind people I’m a horrible girl deep down,” she says. Her animations, admittedly, are pretty gross. Centring women partaking in the eating of bugs whilst lying on the kitchen floor (who hasn’t done this?) and mini-dentists who live within the mouth, chipping away at the tartar in a gallery of teeth. It’s bubblegum body-horror, always glowing ethereally whilst touching on the inherent strangeness of our bodies. But, Caitlin’s newest works expand into the small, mundane horror stories of everyday living, such as female-focused cosmetics and grief. In one animation, a dejected bride gobbles cake and chain-smokes in a bath of misery. And in her newest short flick Full Set, a woman progressively cooks her arm whilst trying to get the perfect nails.

“This film actually came about out of frustration at myself for not making more personal work in the past few years. I think I’ve seen so many great animated shorts that I got completely paralysed by nerves and decided to channel most of my creative energy into getting really good at doing my own nails instead,” says Caitlin. “Obviously, that has grown into resentment for the process of doing them so it felt like a good topic to make something nasty about. Sort of punishing myself for getting waylaid.”

Full Set is for anyone who has ever gotten their nails “did” – for only they would be familiar with the “heat spikes” – chemical reactions with the light and polish that means your nails get very hot and painful. When the name of the game is physical perfection, one must endure the fiery baptism of the hand-cooker.

And so, Caitlin’s relatable protagonist ends up turning her arm into an eldritch horror, looking a bit more like a mutated Tetsuo from Akira than Margaret Qualley from The Substance. “I think I’ve been influenced hugely by lots of rank stuff I’ve seen on the internet since I was a kid – I’ve always been morbidly curious and that led me to a huge interest in horror and gore as a teen,” says Caitlin, citing Tokyo Gore Police as an inspiration, a blood-soaked tokusatsu film. Caitlin tells It’s Nice That the movie includes a man whose penis gets cut off and turns into a huge bazooka. “At the same time, I’ve always loved cutesy stuff – I was a big Sanrio collector back in the day. I guess most of what I make is trying to balance and contrast those two themes!” the animator ends.