In the years following a traumatic family event, Will (Zach Villa) has by all accounts adjusted to life as an adult. His job as a potter is enriching, while his relationship with a new boyfriend is rock solid. But after receiving a mysterious package, the buried evils of his past resurface and Will’s grip on reality—and his body — begin to slip, forcing him to confront and reckon with his demons before they consume him forever.

Filmmaker Addison Heinmann drew from personal experience for this hallucinatory debut feature, a frightening and gruesomely funny modern twist on body horror, fresh off its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival. Also starring Madeleine Zima and Paget Brewster, Hypochondriac plumbs not only the depths of how mental health and internal scarring can manifest in the physical realm but also the complexities of regaining control over it. Desperate and captivating, Villa (who played real-life serial killer Richard Ramirez in American Horror Story: 1984) embodies the role of a man unraveling with startling precision, rightfully earning a spot in the pantheon of outstanding haunted and unhinged screen performances.