When I eat a Big Mac, I put myself at the mercy of a company that doesn’t give a rock-hard shit about my health, and I’m ignoring the vast political implications of my purchase. Would it be that much different if I submitted myself to human experimentation at the hands of a corporation with equally little regard for my well-being?

This might be the mundane if deeply amusing conundrum at the heart of Zach Weintraub’s Slackjaw.

The film’s smalltown hero, Rob, applies along with his friend Austyn to make a little cash as a human guinea pig for the recently arrived EV Corp. Weintraub spins a picaresque gem from the premise, adding the bone-dry vibe of early Jim Jarmusch to the film’s millennial concerns and deadpan, west coast sensibility. This is a film full of very weird left turns, up to and including a bizarre encounter with the affliction of the title, and Weintraub’s contention that his schlubby 20-something lead is actually a kind of superhero.

“In keeping with the muted tone, the heroic act is just going to check on his friend,” says the writer-director, calling the Straight from Portland. “Obviously it’s not very heroic, but to me that’s his origin and his transformation, when his jaw becomes slack. That’s his power, I guess.”

If you’re confused—good. Weintraub is loathe to go much deeper than that, and it’d be wrong to give too much of the story away, although he does concede that “there might be some symbolism” to Rob’s diet of burgers, pizza, and hot dogs. Weintraub will be there to take questions when Slackjaw unspools at its own singularly odd pace at VIFF on Sunday (September 27). Till then, he is at least willing to identify one of the influences behind the film’s downbeat style.

“I was thinking about Jacques Tati for certain scenes,” he says. “You wouldn’t necessarily find yourself guffawing at one of his movies, but just the mechanics of the way the scenes unfold can kind of tickle you. That sort of style of comedy that’s not about punchlines and big gags is something I was into.” Let that stand as a recommendation; I’m still feeling Slackjaw’s lowdown, satisfying tickle.