South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival – In writer/director Addison Heimann‘s Hypochondriac, protagonist Will’s (Zach Villa) life is a mess. He can’t hold down a job, and his relationship with his boyfriend is frayed. Will harbors serious emotional childhood trauma. The way it plays out is equal parts sad and terrifying. This film is unafraid to really explore mental illness or depict a breakdown.

We begin with a flashback and see young Will (Ian Inigo) dressed as a wolf for Halloween. Soon after, his mom (Marlene Forte) pins him to the bed and nearly kills him. This opening is intense and shows the source of the scars Will carries.  An adult, Will works as a potter for a high-end studio/boutique, but his trauma roars back after his mom continues to leave strange and cryptic voice messages. She’s convinced the CIA or other government agencies are after her. Further, she’s certain Will’s boyfriend, Luke (Devon Graye), is no good, but rather, some sort of spy. It’s difficult to tell whether or not these phone calls are real, especially once Will’s mental state declines further. The line between reality and fiction blurs.

Will’s trauma manifests itself in the form of a menacing wolf. This haunts him, and a lot of these sequences are both bizarre and unnerving. Will can’t shake the past, and he drifts from one doctor to the next. Everyone tells him that he’s fine, even if he’s clearly not. They prescribe him various meds, but none fend off the wolf. It gets to the point where he’s so damaged that he burns himself on the kiln and loses control of his arms. From there, he’s fired and lashes out at his boyfriend, the only one who truly loves him and tries to understand his pain. His dad (Chris Doubek) is a real jerk. It’s surprising Will’s mom stayed with him for so long.

What works in this film is Villa’s performance, especially in the last 30 minutes. He brings it to this role and really carries much of the film, pushing his character to the breaking point, while managing to generate real empathy from the viewer. The ups and down his character endures is no easy task to convey on screen, but Villa does a superb job. To add, Will’s trippy visions underscore his fractured mental state, though it becomes increasingly difficult to tell what’s real and what isn’t. However, perhaps that’s the point.

There have been a lot of horror films about trauma lately, like Hereditary, Violation, Possum, Midsommar, just to name a few. But Hypochonrdiac really succeeds at showing the difficulty of mental illness. Will is an empathetic character, just struggling to get through the day-to-day. Heimann treats such a delicate storyline with care. The wolf here frightens, but even worse are the characters who dismiss the protagonist’s pain, including his own dad. Hypochondriac, at its best moments, exudes pathos, while showing what it’s like to be on the verge of a breakdown.

7 Out of 10