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WATCH: ‘Wednesday’ breakout Hunter Doohan takes a dip in eerie teaser for new horror short

After breaking out with Netflix‘s smash hit Addams Family riff, Wednesday, Hunter Doohan is taking on another project that looks creepy, kooky, mysterious, and spooky in an entirely different way.

The recent Dishin’ It guest stars in the indie horror short Ringing Rocks as Anson, a young man taking his troubled boyfriend, Cliff (Theater Camp‘s Max Sheldon), on an overnight trip to a gorgeous desert resort.

In the wake of a tragic loss, Cliff suffered from paranoid delusions and had to undergo intense psychiatric treatment. Anson hopes that their little getaway will help ease his partner back into everyday life, but it’s never that simple, is it?

Despite the idyllic surroundings—including an inviting hot tub—Anson recognizes that something’s off. Could it be those sirens blaring off in the distance? Before long, the couple’s paradise becomes Anson’s own personal hell as things just get more and more eerie.

Writer-director Gus Reed’s chilling new short film takes its name from the mysterious phenomenon where certain rocks resonate like bells when struck, which can be found in certain locations all over the world.

But, as Reed reveals to Queerty, the film was inspired by a specific trip he took with his boyfriend to a resort in Desert Hot Springs, CA where “everything was a little bit off,” and “a bizarre interaction with the hotel manager left us wondering if we were safe there as a gay couple.”

Ringing Rocks explores both those “very personal” fears, as well as a more universal anxiety about the state of the world, especially in the wake of a COVID-19 pandemic when the future seems much less certain.

Watch the first official teaser for the short below:

Reed counts himself lucky to have been able to feature Doohan in what he considers his “first real statement” as a gay filmmaker. It was important for him to cast queer actors in his lead roles, so he was eager to work with Doohan, especially after seeing his incredible work opposite Bryan Cranston in the Showtime series Your Honor.

The only catch? Doohan was still filming Wednesday—thousands of miles away in Romania—and was scheduled to fly back to LA less than 24 hours before the first production day of Ringing Rocks.

“It was a huge gamble,” Reed admits to Queerty, but it’s one that paid off. “[He] gave this incredible performance that really carries the movie, which is really told from his character’s perspective.”

“Hunter has that really special presence onscreen, you just look at him and you can’t help feel like you have a stake in what he’s going through.”

Reed shares he and Doohan collaborated on yet another horror short late last year, so we’ll keep our eyes peeled for that one, too.

In the meantime, Reed aims to take Ringing Rocks on the film festival circuit after premiering in LA last fall at the AFI film festival. Stay tuned for more details on where and when you can catch the film for yourself.

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