Aahana Swrup
Shal Ngo’s Hulu horror film ‘Control Freak’ charts the story of a woman whose life spirals out of control as a result of her own unyielding compulsions. Val Nguyen is a motivational speaker who has built a brand for herself as someone who has overcome her hangups to be the best version of herself. However, when she’s not inspiring her audience and clients, she’s stuck in her own stressful life—consistently scratching at the itch on her head as an obsessive habit. Her hidden condition worsens to the point where she scuffs up a hole in the back of her head, which she keeps covered up with an assortment of hats.
Consequently, Val finds herself desperate for some answers about her situation, which brings her to her own past, particularly the mysterious death of her mother. The story relies on the relatability of obsessive compulsions and the grounded terror of body horror to build its narrative. As such, despite the eerie dread blanketing Val’s tale, the woman’s experiences find a sense of realism that suggests an intriguing origin in reality.
Control Freak Mines Inspiration From a Real Medical Condition
The base premise of ‘Control Freak’ revolves around a woman whose compulsion to scratch an itch paves the way for a nefarious supernatural haunting. Naturally, this departs the film from reality, cementing it as a work of fiction. Nonetheless, even though Val’s character and her storyline are confined to the screen, the origins behind her story find a varied and extensive basis in reality. Initially, Shal Ngo—the writer and director of the project—came up with the story as a short film for Hulu’s ‘Bite Size Halloween’ Series. He drew inspiration from an actual story he had heard about an individual itching a hole in their head.
While there are scant news records about such a real-life instance, the concept of obsessively scratching one’s head to the point of self-harm remains a real-life phenomenon. Dermatillomania is an actual mental health condition related to OCD or obsessive-compulsive disorders. Also known as a skin-picking disorder, it compels people to pick at and scratch their skin, causing injuries to themselves. One way in which this condition may manifest is the habit of picking scabs on the scalp skin. Reports have shown that 2 to 5% of the population is estimated to experience this condition.
However, Val’s situation—of a harmful obsessive habit developing in the face of mounting stress and anxiety, remains relatable even to the audience who can’t directly relate to clinical Dermatillomania. Kelly Marie Tran, the actress portraying the protagonist’s role, herself found resonance in her character’s struggle by drawing parallels to Val’s situation and her own perception of anxiety. Similarly, Ngo also found a way to relate to the central conflict in his own way. In a conversation with UPI, the filmmaker shared, “For me (the interpretation of Val’s itch), I guess it would just be this nagging feeling inside of you that you feel about yourself that you’re not enough or you’re doing it wrong or you’re a bad person. It’s just a nagging kind of feeling inside of you that never goes away.”
Shal Ngo Poured His Own Reality Into Val’s Story
Initially, when ‘Control Freak’ was being developed as a short film, the pitch didn’t have a fully formed idea of how it would translate into a feature film. Therefore, after the short turned into a feature, the filmmaker was able to incorporate other elements that truly brought the story to life. During this process, director/writer Shal Ngo decided to add a personal angle to the tale and change its technical approach to a grounded, well-rounded narrative with the potential for universal relatability.
As such, the mythological lore behind Val’s compulsions and its connection to the ghostly deity Sanshi came into being. Reportedly, Ngo took inspiration from his own life—particularly his grandfather, who was a soldier turned Buddhist monk. This unique perspective remains reflective in the character of Sang, Val’s father and the harbinger of Sanshi. Furthermore, the filmmaker also drew from his own experiences with the inflammatory skin condition, eczema, to delve into the central character’s psyche. Consequently, while the initial premise brought a sense of body horror to the narrative, the influence of Ngo’s real-life details added authentic substance to the story.
Sanshi is a Real-Life Physiological Belief
The supernatural aspect of ‘Control Freak’ adds a layer of unending horror to the narrative that remains metaphorically ripe for the picking. The ghostly spirit can be taken to represent a number of things, including childhood and generational trauma or a variety of mental health issues. Consequently, this ensures that numerous people can see their own struggles reflected in Val’s story. However, despite the ambiguous nature of Sanshi in the film, the concept remains well-established in Daoism—philosophical and religious traditions originating from China.
As per Daoist—or Taoist—beliefs, Sanshi or Sanchong (Three Corpses or Three Worms) are demonic creatures that live within humans in a parasitic sense. These creatures, which reside within the head, chest, and abdomen of their hosts, prey on their host’s dwindling health with the intention of bringing them to their early demise. While the real-life lore behind these creatures is extensive and oftentimes divergent from the film’s version of the Sanshi, it provides a realistic basis for the on-screen supernatural element. As such, despite a direct counterpart in reality, the storyline maintains crucial ties with real life that inform the film’s overall realism.
Read More: Control Freak Ending, Explained
