Fear and anxiety are some of the powerful responses that accompany seemingly mundane experiences – whether watching a genre film or contending with intimate relationships. The new psychological thriller, ‘Exposure,’ highlights how that terror is a typical response in daily life for many people. But the actions of the movie’s protagonist, Tanner, shows that such distress can be so crippling to people with obsessive compulsive disorder that it prevents them from experiencing other emotions.

The project marks the feature film directorial debut of Peter Cannon. The filmmaker, who also wrote the script, based Tanner’s struggles on his own experiences living with OCD for his entire life.

Cannon decided to include what he considers to be the best tool in addressing the anxiety linked to OCD, which is called exposure response prevention therapy, in the drama. He has stated that it’s surprising in how simple and intuitive the treatment is for OCD patients. A person’s fear is stimulated in a controlled environment, without compulsions or avoidance, until the power it holds is gone.

‘Exposure’ chronicles how years ago, Tanner (Douglas Smith; ‘Don’t Worry Darling,’ ‘Big Little Lies’) was kidnapped, tortured and poisoned by an unknown assailant. After being inexplicably let go, he was left obsessed with the idea that his kidnapper was still out to get him.

Day in and day out, his compulsive checking to confirm that his house is secure and his food is safe to eat slowly erodes his relationship with his patient and caring wife, Nicole (Margo Harshman, ‘NCIS,’ ‘The Big Bang Theory’). One day, Nicole hears that the man who did this to her husband was released from prison earlier than expected, and Tanner’s obsession spirals out of control.

To save her marriage, Nicole forces him to face his fears head-on with exposure therapy, and ultimately confront the fact that he’s experiencing obsessive compulsive disorder. Reluctant at first, he eventually takes to it well – and perhaps to a dangerous level.

The project premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival to critical acclaim. Gravitas Ventures is releasing the thriller today, July 9, On Demand and on Digital platforms, including Apple TV+.

To help promote the feature, Cannon generously took the time earlier today to talk about penning and helming ‘Exposure’ during an exclusive interview over Zoom. The interview with the filmmaker can be viewed in the above video.