Cottonmouth: The Movie is the passion project of one Christopher P. Garetano, a filmmaker who's been fascinated with the fantasy and horror genre pretty much since birth. At age 10, he got his hands on a three-page story written and illustrated by artist Steve Bissette. The comic now forms the basis for Garetano's new film, a five-minute short (I'm discounting the 90 seconds of credits) that's cool to look at but hard to follow.

Part of the problem is that the story is outdated. Bissette's comic was published in 1986, when a disease known as toxic shock syndrome was killing young women and receiving loads of media attention. The disease was contracted through super-absorbent tampons that have since been banned by the FDA. So Bissette's original story, about the revenge exacted upon a corporate executive who manufactured the tampons, has little relevance to today's audience. It would be like telling a horror story 20 years from now about the dangers of lead paint in Chinese-produced toys.

Beyond that, Garetano's screenplay is too vague as an adaptation, never finding a clear way to translate the ideas in Bissette's comic from page to screen. The original story took place at the corporate executive's bedside, where the spirits of young women who have died of toxic shock syndrome have gathered to stuff used tampons down his throat and sew his lips shut. The only reason I know this is because I've seen the interview with Bissette that's posted on Garetano's channel. Without it, I would have been completely lost. The filmmaker seems to recognize this, adding a radio announcement about toxic shock syndrome over the end credits in a last-ditch effort to provide context.

Along with the Bissette interview, Garetano's channel has more than an hour's worth of featurettes, which cover the painstaking process of bringing the comic to life. Garetano's meticulous approach pays off spectacularly in the makeup and effects department. From the extreme close-ups of the executive's lips being sewn shut to the surreal closing sequence set in the afterlife, the film is stuffed to bursting with forceful, nightmarish imagery.

I just wish Garetano had fleshed out the story more. Bissette did - he republished Cottonmouth years later, writing a one-page introduction and a one-page conclusion. Garetano chose to adapt the original three-page comic, which I think was a mistake. He should film the two missing pages and make a new cut, so this ambitious little horror movie's potential can be fulfilled.