Hypochondriac. Reviewed by Brian Kirst.
Hypochondriac (screening at Horror Society’s B-Movie Madness 2 in January 2010), an over-the-top/frequently amusing segment of producers’ Marv Blauvelt and Raine Brown’s upcoming anthology film Psycho Street, is solid enough to be an almost stand alone segment in its own right.
Dr. Oliver Combs arrives at his new post in a small town to find an over amorous nurse-receptionist, a savagely determined neighborhood woman who believes self-surgery is the best health care option and a demented backwoods Barbie who may or may not be impregnated by an alien. Of course, Dr. Combs is already extremely uptight and severely turned off by physical contact (just what one wants in a physician, no?) due to the perilous existence of obnoxious and surely deadly germs.
Not surprisingly, Hypochondriac is often bawdily scatological and nerve cringingly nasty, another fine entry from the mind of Blauvelt and director Pete Jacelone. Acting-wise, as always, Blauvelt delivers a capably impressive performance as Combs. He is subtle and sure where others may have been overblown and it is amazing to contemplate that he only began performing in earnest several years ago. East Coast horror mafia members Alan Rowe Kelly and Susan Adriensen also bring much quirky joy and accomplishment to this piece – proving that low budget does not always mean low talent.
In fact, if Hypochondriac is an early indication, the entirety of Psycho Street looks to be a sure and bloody delight.
