‘Hypochondriac’ review: A ‘Donnie Darko’-inspired queer horror movie

CHICAGO – Editor’s word: This overview initially ran as a part of our protection of the 2022 SXSW Movie Pageant on April 1, 2022. It has been republished in gentle of the movie’s debut in theaters and VOD.

The creation of artwork can double as an act of remedy. For filmmakers, that generally means opening up wounds to audiences hungry for even a drop of catharsis. Enter author/director Addison Heimann’s debut function “Hypochondriac,” a woozy, disturbing account of the artist’s points with psychological sickness. (The movie’s opening title card reads, “Primarily based on a True Breakdown.”) As is usually the case with first movies, that is removed from a shiny blockbuster, however Heimann compensates for a modest finances with some sturdy performances and atmospheric modifying.

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About “Hypochondriac”: “Donnie Darko”-infused horror

Will (Zach Villa) is a younger homosexual man haunted by the specter of his mom’s psychosis: As a baby, he suffered underneath her delusional, often violent impulses, till finally he reduce off all contact together with her. As an grownup, he’s acquired a candy new boyfriend (Devon Graye) and a job as an assistant at a boutique pottery gallery. However quickly sufficient, his mom as soon as once more insinuates herself in his life, leaving incoherent, babbling voice messages and dropping unusual packages at his door that include cryptic hints at a grander goal for him.

Quickly after, Will begins experiencing a sequence of unusual bodily signs that one physician after one other can’t clarify. (He even begins seeing visions of a mysterious determine in a wolf costume with a spooky masks when he is alone, trying — maybe deliberately — a bit like Frank the Bunny from “Donnie Darko.”)

(L-R) Devon Graye as Luke and Zach Villa as Will within the horror/LGBTQ+ movie, HYPOCHONDRIAC, an XYZ Movies launch. Photograph courtesy of XYZ Movies. 

WATCH FREE ON TUBI: The haunted horrors of “The Babadook” — get the app

“Hypochondriac” isn’t an ideal film. Only a few are. But the few cracks within the film’s gothic ceilings end result from the low-budget nature of the filmmaking, give or take just a few creaky strains of dialogue right here and there. These issues are counter-balanced by the intimate, intensely private nature of the storytelling.

Heimann coaxes a wounded, dynamic efficiency out of Villa; collectively, the author/director and actor paint a portrait of the acute private ache psychological sickness can inflict upon an in any other case regular life. “Hypochondriac” often stumbles when weaving its messaging in amongst the horrors, however it’s a promising debut. I am curious to see what Heimann does subsequent.

Grade: B-

Not rated. 96 minutes. Dir: Addison Heimann. That includes Zach Villa, Devon Graye, Madeline Zima, Yumarie Morales, Marlene Forte, Paget Brewster. “Hypochondriac” is at the moment obtainable in choose theaters and digitally.

In regards to the author: Clint Worthington is a member of the Chicago Movie Critics Affiliation. He’s the founder and editor-in-chief of The Spool, and a Senior Author at Consequence. You’ll find his different work at Vulture, Nerdist, RogerEbert.com, and elsewhere.

Make it a double function with “The Home of the Satan,” streaming free on Tubi

The Home of the Satan (2009): The financial system of storytelling in Ti West’s tribute to horror movies of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s is downright elegant, giving the movie (and the viewers) an opportunity to breathe in between moments of disturbing violence. Its type is harking back to one of many classier proto-slashers, the unique “Black Christmas” — one other movie that manages to be each hushed and surprising. “The Home of the Satan” stars Jocelin Donahue as a university pupil who solutions the flawed needed advert, together with an early position for a pre-fame Greta Gerwig because the BFF with incredible ‘70s hair and a brutal onscreen dying. Rated R. 95 minutes. Dir: Ti West. Additionally that includes: Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov.

“The Home of the Satan” is streaming free on Tubi — get the app

Tips on how to watch “Hypochondriac”

“Hypochondriac” is out there digitally and On Demand, in addition to screening in choose theaters.

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