Hypochondriac, a short film by director/producer Pete Jacelone, is a project that if I weren't familiar with the majority of the cast through other independent films - I probably would have a different opinion of. I think if there's any kind of rule preventing performers from going over the top, Hypochondriac took that particular rule and threw it in the trash can before one shot was actually set up. However, knowing how talented this crew actually is - I suppose that's generally the point. Taking the notion of a small southern town terrorized both by idiocy as well as a possible alien threat, the movie sets itself up as a very exaggerated horror-comedy. A short that will be a part of the anthology film Psycho Street packs an interesting cast and some genuinely bizarre moments that should make that something to see.

Our story focuses on Dr. Oliver Combs as he comes to a small town medical practice with the purpose of taking over the soon to be retiring doctor on staff. However, when he arrives the town is in hysterics as one of the local residents swears that she has an alien fetus currently growing on the side of her ankle. Combs takes over the practice soon enough and finds his days full of weary, as these people are generally insane! Between his nurse Amber Love Joy (a sarcastic and slightly dense nympho who doesn't care much for Combs or anyone else) and the town's resident Hypochondriac Charity Betencourt (who believes that she should not only diagnose herself but also perform extensive surgeries of necessary) - the doctor is going to end up losing his mind! Will everything work out? And what about that growing alien fetus in that hillbilly's leg?

Hypochondriac is a strange little number for sure. Essentially it's a short that is chock full of caricatures and stereotypes and that's where it gets the majority of it's comedic elements. You've got the uptight doctor from the north, Dr. Combs (reference to Jeffrey Combs who played Dr. Herbert West in Re-Animator?) who sprays his hands down with germ-killer after touching nearly anyone. Although I'm not saying it isn't possible, it seems like the medical field would be a bad profession for someone with such a phobia, correct? Anyway, aside from him all of the locals in town are essentially cartoon character cliches of what the general idea of what a "redneck" is. This being their intention, they certainly keep their movie in an extremely heightened version of reality. Although this form of comedy isn't particularly my cup of tea, it's broad and I'm sure there are those who will find that sort of thing hilarious.

The short does feature Raine Brown however, who is absolutely GORGEOUS here. I've seen her in Sculpture before this and I know that she's actually a fairly qualified dramatic actress on top of being a working scream queen. Although I thought she was pretty in Sculpture, she just exhibits sexiness in her role here while also selling the comedy. She makes her role fun which I enjoyed and simply couldn't take my perverted eyes off of her. There are others who appeared in Sculpture as well, including Alan Rowe Kelly and Susan Adriensen, while I spotted Edward X. Young from The Green Monster in another "redneck" role similar to the one he had in The Green Monster. So you've got a highly talented cast and crew here and although I think it's a short that doesn't showcase all of their talents - I look forward to Psycho Street where the short will likely be paired with other features that might give it a better narrative flow and help plug things together so to speak.

So in the end it's an engaging short, to be sure. A lot of great actors involved and the incredible Raine Brown to go gah-gah over. The end project is something I am definitely looking forward to. You can find more information from their myspace web page

where they have full credits and will hopefully have a release date as it gets closer!