The avant-garde three-part musical Hideous is directed by Yann Gonzalez (Knife+Heart, Islands). The story follows a queer boy, growing up – and living with HIV.

“Hideous” is a horror musical starring The xx bandmates Oliver Sim and Jamie xx. The short features drag queen Bimini as The Queen Of Doom, with Jimmy Somerville as The Guardian Angel. The trailer also features footage from Sim’s music video for “Hideous”. Sim says of the track,

“Early on in the making of my record, ‘Hideous Bastard’, I realised that I was writing a lot about fear and shame.”

The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier in 2022, which the New York Times describes as “a pastiche of early silent film, 1960s British television, 1970s glam rock and 1980s gay pornography”.

The Story

“Hideous” voyages into a fantastical journey of love and blood. It’s also a tribute to some of the singer’s favourite horror movies. Sim’s impending first solo album, “Hideous Bastard,” accompanies the film with tracks “Hideous,” “Fruit,” “Romance With A Memory,” and “GMT” all appearing on the soundtrack.

Sim explains that “I imagine that might paint a picture of a dark, ‘woe is me’-sounding album”. He describes becoming a “firm believer” in addressing feelings of sadness by bringing them to the surface to shed light on them.

He goes on to say,

“I haven’t written the record to dwell, but rather to free myself of some of the shame and fear that I’ve felt for a long time…

Per NME, Sim describes spending years of his life circling around one particular issue that he considers the source of his fear and shame.

“My HIV status. I’ve been living with HIV since I was 17 and it’s played with how I’ve felt towards myself, and how I’ve assumed others have felt towards me, from that age and into my adult life.”

The short also features drag queen Bimini as The Queen Of Doom, with Jimmy Somerville as The Guardian Angel. Along with Fehinti Balogun, César Vicente, and Kate Moran.

“Hideous” is coming exclusively on MUBI from September 8, 2022.

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