There’s nothing more terrifying than being haunted by your past, because no matter where you go it will always hunt you down. This is a painful lesson that Will, the lead character in queer horror film Hypochondriac, is about to learn.
According to the synopsis, the film follows Will, “a young Hispanic gay potter, [who] is one gregarious guy. His boss is terrible, but he’s got a great boyfriend and a great job. Unfortunately, behind that veneer is a dark past of violence and mental illness that he is desperate to keep hidden. When his bipolar mother comes out of the woodwork after 10 years of silence, he begins exhibiting unexplainable symptoms and spirals into an obsession, determined to solve this mystery of his own.”
The film marks writer-director Addison Heimann’s first feature and it was inspired partly by his own battles with mental illness and hypochondria — and the subsequent struggles he encountered while dealing with medical professionals, he told The Advocate following the film's SXSW world premiere.
In Will’s case, those real-life inspirations are manifested in a wolfman-like creature that begins stalking him, even as his body and mind begin to fail him. It's a creature that no one else can see, but is relentless in its pursuit. The result is bone-chilling.
Hypochondriac is set to arrive in theaters July 29, followed by on demand and digital releases on August 4. Watch the trailer below.
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