| |
| This
is it, folks - an evolving, exhaustive (and exhausting) guide to
all things queer in horror cinema. Got suggestions? Send
'em! Updated on a regular basis -- so check back every 5 minutes!
*
Please note that I am NOT in the business of "outing"
people -- if I make reference to a filmmaker or actor's sexuality,
it is because they have either publicly stated the fact or, in the
case of artists who have passed away, it is generally considered
a true fact. In many cases I will refer to artists as "queer-friendly",
which is neither an accusation of gayness nor an insult. Trust me.
A
B C D E
F G H I
J K L M
N O P Q
R S T U V W X
Y Z
|
| American
Psycho |
Mary
Harron |
2000 |
|
| One
of the smartest and best horror films of the past 10 years, lesbian
director Mary Harron's masterful adaptation of Bret Easton
Ellis's controversial text is one of the most scathing indictments
of heterosexual male behavior ever committed to film. It's not just
women on the chopping block here -- it's good old-fashioned American
Machismo, powered by the excess of the "Me Decade" and
the rise of female empowerment and financial self-dependence. Queer
elements abound, from the director to the co-writer (Guinevere
Turner, who also plays one of the funnier victims) to the character
of Luis Carruthers (played with putty-faced aplomb by Matt Ross),
who is one of the few victims to escape Patrick Bateman's clutches
-- simply because his gayness scares Patrick out of killing him. Smart
as a whip but with just enough guilty pleasures to keep things from
getting too preachy, the film is dark, funny, bloody, and more insightful
than a serial killer movie has any right to be. Extra points for the
scene where the excellent Christian Bale runs down a hallway
wearing nothing but pristene white tennis shoes and a running chainsaw. |
| |
| Amuck! |
Silvio
Amadio |
1972 |
|
| Odd,
nasty, and surprisingly not as bad as it should be, Amuck!
is one of the better entries into the whole Italians-with-violent-sex-hangups
genre. The story is simple but is fortunately played for all it's
worth: lovely young typist Greta (Barbara Bouchet) takes a
job with reclusive author Richard (confirmed bachelor and horror vet
Farley Granger, of Rope, The Prowler, and Strangers
on a Train), who lives with his ladyfriend Eleanora (Rosalba
Neri, reminding me very much of the secretary from Mad Monster
Party -- yes, the puppet) in a decaying mansion in Venice. It
seems her friend (and the former secretary) disappeared under mysterious
circumstances, and Greta is out to uncover the truth -- and of course
uncovers a whole lot more, including herself. Frequently. Aside from
being drugged nightly and molested by the nyphomaniac Eleanor, Greta
is also revealed to have had a sapphic relationship with her dead
friend Sally -- but more importantly, it is revealed that whenever
two incredibly hot women have sex in Italy, they do it in slow motion.
Farley stands aloof as the impotent/innocent bystander, but after
a multitude of fairly intriguing twists no one is really innocent.
Lots of swarthy, unctuous men, drop-dead beautiful women, and fairly
shocking sex (not to mention a flaming fairy at a "nudie home
movie" party who keeps cackling things out like "that's
got to be a dildo") make this one a blush-inducing delight
that's much more watchable than this kind of film usually is. |
| Rating
(out of 5): |
  |
|
| Apology |
Robert
Bierman |
1986 |
|
| The
only person that deserves an apology is me, and perhaps my bitchy
friends, for being forced to sit through this piece of poop. The
bastard child of Eyes of Laura Mars and Cruising,
this made-for-HBO crapper aspires to fabulousness but actually causes
spontaneous napping. The atrocious Lesley Ann Warren (and
it's hard for me to say that, it is -- remember, Clue is
one of my favorite films) and the surprisingly handsome Peter
Weller bitch, whine, and swat at each other like babies in an
insipid soap opera plot disguised as Slaves of New York.
It seems that a deranged killer is using sculptor Lily's Apology
line (a tape machine that records anonymous apologies from New Yorkers
to be used later in an installation) as a confessional, and of course
ends up getting a little closer to the artist than she's really
comfortable with. It's a damn shame that such a great idea and potentially
fertile setup (come on -- New Yorkers apologizing? That's rich!)
is played out so limply, leaving us to watch Warren smoke open-handed
in an assortment of hideous Eastern European sweaters and shoulder
pads that Walter Peyton would have killed for. Not to mention her
hair -- I have never seen a woman allow herself to be repeatedly
photographed with limper, more woofed-out hair in my life. At one
point she actually leaves the house for an event with a plastic
clip on her head. That's just wrong.
Now,
aside from all the bad hair and outfits, there's also a random secondary
plot that had me very confused: apparently there's another
killer on the loose who is biting the cocks (or "shlongs"
as they like to say) off of "gays" in Manhattan. God knows
why, or why it's important here, but hell -- it was the '80s, right?
Oddly, although Harvey Fierstein appears in this movie, he
does NOT get his gay shlong bitten off, and in fact doesn't even
play a gay -- he plays a homeless drunk who ends up gutted and hung
upside-down in a stairwell like a dressed deer. So I'm not complaining,
but still...
Future
Sex in the City-er Chris Noth makes and early, handsome,
and short-lived appearance, and there are some nice location shots
of the city, but otherwise this one is definitely one to skip: it's
boring, horribly acted, and ultimately both pointless and exploitative.
To artists, that is. Earns its one skully for prominenly featuring
a Nagel painting. |
| Rating
(out of 5): |
 |
|
|
Apt Pupil |
Bryan
Singer |
1998 |
|
| Horror?
Thriller? Eh -- people die. That's good enough for me. Gay director
Bryan Singer and gay Englishman Ian McKellen turned
in this creepy little gem between Singer's The Usual Suspects
and the Unambiguously Gay Duo's ultrasmash X-Men. Loaded with
homo subtext and a bizarre scene featuring homeless guy Elias Koteas
offering up gay sex to McKellan (now where did I put my wallet ...).
The source of yet another lawsuit, this one involving the filming
of the scene featuring boys showering. Rumor has it Kevin Spacey
made frequent set visits .... |
| |
|
The Attic Expeditions |
Jeremy
Kasten |
2001 |
|
| An
occasionally engaging but entirely too self-conscious "mindfuck
film", The Attic Expeditions feels like it was directed
by several different people, or perhaps one person on several different
drug binges. The beginning is pretty awful, detailing the arrival
of Trevor (Andras Jones, of A Nightmare on Elm Street
4 and Sorority Babes at the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama) in
the dastardly clinic of Dr. Ek (Jeffrey Combs, of
several misguided attempts at translating H.P. Lovecraft
to the screen, and one good one: Re-Animator), who is a flagrantly
evil scientist with something very Scooby-Doo nasty up his
sleeve. Thankfully, the action quickly leaves this arena and moves
to the House of Love, a rehab grouphouse for crazies, populated
with the likes of Douglas (Seth Green of Buffy, Austin
Powers, etc.), Dr. Thalama (Wendy Robie, the eye-patched
loonie Nadine of Twin Peaks fame, who has since maintained
a steady diety of horror poopers like The People Under the Stairs,
The Dentist II, and many more), and a few more. Here, at least,
things start to get a little fun, and we watch as Trevor starts
to hallucinate, have nightmares about a trunk in the attic, get
laid by girls both living AND dead, and generally live a decidedly
un-therapeutic lifestyle, all under the watchful eye of Ek and his
visitor, Dr. Coffee (Ted Raimi, who must have owed someone
a favor, as his character seems hastily written in at the last minute
and serves absolutely no purpose other than a as sounding board
for exposition). Is Trevor being visited by the ghost of his dead
fiancee? Is he a murderer? And more importantly, did Douglas REALLY
just try to kiss him?
Yes,
this film has something queer going on. Early on Douglas tries to
place one on Trevor, and I dismissed it as "ooh, crazy people
-- they MUST be gay!". But by the end, when the shit has hit
the fan and most of the cast is dead, the dead Faith inhabits Douglas,
who chases Trevor around covered in blood, yelling things like "I
love you!" and trying to make out with him. I'm sure we've
all been in this same exact situation, but somehow with Seth Green
involved it's a little more interesting to watch. Unfortunately,
this glimmer of faggotry is almost completely buried in "look
at me!" camera tricks, knockoff set design and plot twists
that rob everything from Pink Floyd's The Wall to Beetlejuice,
and a plethora of full-frontal female nudity (which is great and
all when used properly, but here it's really distracting). While
at times the script is clever in its "is-he-or-isn't-he"
game (is Trevor nuts, not is Douglas gay), it gets bogged down in
its own contrivances and unfortunately can't hold up. I'd say "better
luck next time", but after a look at the director's photo on
the IMDB
(in sunglasses, smoking a cigarette), I say "get over your
Vincent Gallo-ed self and make a movie" instead. Some good
performances by Green and Robie make it less painful than it could
be. |
| Rating
(out of 5): |
  |
|
| |
| One
of the most underrated and overlooked horror/thrillers of the past
30 years, this film is excellent at maintaining a consistently creepy
tone and atmosphere while building to an unforseeable and shocking
climax. Shot like a made-for-TV movie, the story of the Wadsworths
is like something out of Joyce Carol Oates on a mushroom trip:
mother (the impossibly smoky-voiced Ruth Roman and two sisters
(the impossibly perky Alba and lesbian witch Germaine) put
aside their own lives and dreams to care for Baby, a fully-grown man
who sleeps in a crib and can neither walk nor talk. Presented as a
domestic drama, the strangeness of the situation is amplified without
tipping into comedy, and the weirdness surrounding the mystery of
Baby and his three wards works its way under your skin. The arrival
of new social worker Ann Gentry (Anjanette Comer, doing her
best Betty Buckley) upsets the twisted idyll of the Wadsworths
and pushes the events to their twisted finale: will the Wadsworths
lose their Baby? are Ann's intentions virtuous? is Baby really developmentally
challenged at all? Watch to find out. Not really that queer except
for the leering Germaine, and not bad enough to be considered camp,
this is nonetheless such an effective little thriller that I had to
include it here. |
| |
|
Bleed |
Devin
Hamilton/Dennis Peterson |
2002 |
|
| The
movie that refuses to ask the important questions:
WHY
does Debbie Rochon only drink out of red plastic cups?
WHY does Chris have the living room decor of a retired Floridian
gay couple?
WHY are there so many naked male asses in a film featuring
3 -- count 'em -- 3 scream queens?
A
psychological thriller that is neither psyhological NOR thrilling,
Bleed is a pathetic entry into the dwindling genre of sincere
slashers. Non-ironic and humorless (I consider this a good thing),
the film is nonetheless completely sunk by atrocious writing, hammy
acting, and what has to be the worst videography I have ever seen
make it to wide DVD distribution. Budding B-queen Debbie Rochon
plays Maddie, a transplant with a secret (and a not-altogether-interesting
one, ultimately) who falls for a hunky and perhaps mildly retarded
fella whose friends convince her that they murder people for fun.
During an altercation at a parking garage, Maddie beats the living
shit out of an annoying woman, and christens herself part of the
club. Of course, the club was a hoax and now the California 7 have
a killer on their hands, and the bodies start piling up.
This
one is hard to figure out, really -- and I don't mean the inane
plot. There's more male nudity than I've ever seen in a horror film
and in the opening scene the victim is inexplicably in drag (and
has his groin slit through his tidy-whities). This plus the scream-queen
quotient leads me to believe that something queer is afoot in the
proceedings. Look for Eric Cartman in the credits as "Production
Accountant". And then look for something good to watch. Only
worth viewing for the horrific continuity and lighting and for some
amusing gore. And the asses. |
| Rating
(out of 5): |
  |
|
| Blood
Moon (aka Wolf Girl) |
Thom
Fitzgerald |
2001 |
|
| Carnies,
repressed homo teens, and Leslie-Ann Warren -- what more
could you want from a Canadian film?!
Well,
ask for it and you'll get it from gay director Thom Fitzgerald
(The Hanging Garden, Beefcake, The Event) in this stunning,
surprisingly queer tale of alienation, fear, and hatred in Canadian
Suburbia. When the carnival comes to town, a group of mean-spirited
local teens (including X-Men's Iceman, Shawn Ashmore)
decide to go hunting for freaks -- their target? The poor, follicly-enhanced
"Wolf Girl", Tara (Victoria Sanchez). Tara
isn't really a Wolf, but when these nasty kids start messing with
her, it brings out her inner Lobo and, well, things get hairy. Throw
in Tim Curry as the Ringmaster, Grace Jones (!!) as
the He-She, full musical numbers, and Trannie carnies dressed as
coquettes (who shockingly doff their kit), and you've got the makings
of an eerie queer musing on sexual repression and self-hatred (the
revealing of the repressed lesbianism of one of the characters is
quite effective in the final reel). Much like his earlier works,
Fitzgerald's film is intelligent, quirky, and sincere. Let's hope
he dabbles in the genre again. |
| |
| Bloody
Mallory |
Julien
Magnat |
2002 |
|
| It's
really a drag when you have to watch big heaping quantities of your
favorite ingredients (ghouls, drag queens, evil children, priests,
hair dye) thrown together into a cinematic Dump Cake like this.
Basic premise: Mallory, a once virginal bride, is set upon by her
demon husband on their wedding night and kills him, committing herself
to a lifetime tied to the forces of darkness. Mallory forms a motley
crew of demon-slayers, including drag queen Vena Cava and mute telepath
child Talking Tina, and spends her time between spectral visits
from her Jack Skellington-inspired dead hubby slaying foul
hoardes. When a new type of baddie appears, kidnapping the pope
and impregnating nuns with ghoul-babies, it is up to the Manic
Panic gang to save the world. Toss in kung-fu priests (wait
-- make that HOT kung-fu priests), disappearing towns, mouthless
succubi, and beheaded French vampiresses, and you can't go wrong,
right?
Wrong.
I don't know if it's because it's French or because it's badly lit
or what, but much like my baptism (according to my mother), the
movie just doesn't take. And as Martin Balsam once said:
if it don't gel, it ain't aspic.
Bloody
Mallory does have some clever and amusing bits, but the whole
thing is way too broad to support the serious moments and too brooding
to be real popcorn entertainment. The Mallory/dead husband relationship
is way too Buffy/Angel to be taken seriously and Vena Cava
is obviously just there for camp value and cheap laughs. Even delicious
little moments like a maniacally laughing child running through
the streets with an electric meat knife are so cheapy executed that
they fall flat. And honestly, who could take a gang of evil-fighters
seriously that rides Razors scooters? In all, this has the
feeling of a made-for-Sci-Fi version of To Wong Foo. |
| Rating
(out of 5): |
 |
|
|
Booby Trap |
Dwayne
Avery |
1970 |
|
| Godawful
sleaze exploitation flick from "legendary" producer Harry
Novak and Box Office International (also responsible for
gems like The Toy Box and The Child). A crazy ex-army
guy steals a boxful of live mines and goes on a cross-country trip
in a Winnebago to plant them at the site of an upcoming rock concert
(?!). Now, considering the music usually used in these crappy flicks,
I can't blame the guy. There's lots of senseless shouting and violence
and some pretty great late 60's stripclub action, but all the good
sex has been cut out and there's nothing gory or ridiculous enough
to really get a chuckle. I'm including it here because of the presence
of a mincing queer who stalks the heroine's guitar-player boyfriend,
hatches a scheme to steal the club owner's money, gets slapped a lot,
has the shit kicked out of him by a guy who can't be over 5 feet tall,
and gets called "faggot" by nearly every single character
in the movie at some point or another. In such bad taste it's not
even good for a laugh. |
| |
|
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 |
Joe
Berlinger |
2000 |
|
| I
think I'm one of about 6 people who liked this movie (as my friend
David said as we left the theatre, "Book of SHIT"). It's
wantonly manipulative and meanders like Anne Heche in the Hollywood
Hills, but in the end I think it redeems itself by showing just how
insidious and clever that ol' Witch is at getting us poor humans to
carry out her evil bidding. The cast is a hodgepodge -- lead wacko
Jeffrey Donovan takes a group of tourists on camping trip which
visits the supposedly real sites of the original film, and of course
mayhem ensues. Resident goth Kim Director (Summer of Sam)
is the one to watch here -- she delivers a multilayered performance
in what is usually a throwaway role, and her final scene is the gripping
highlight of the movie. At several points, she and resident Wicca
Erica Leerhsen (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) get down to
some dirty touchin', but then again just about everyone in this movie
gets down with almost everyone else (except the guys, of course).
Confusing, tiring, and for most not worth it -- but give it a chance
and it might surprise you. |
| |
| Bride
of Chucky |
Ronny
Yu |
1998 |
|
| Arguably
the best (perhaps besides the original) in the franchise, this fun
little flick is notable in that it features a gay lead character,
who surprisingly does not meet his end at the business end of Chucky's
Mr. Pointy. Not that he lives until the end of the film, but hey --
at least he was there, not comic relief, and not punished for his
queerness by a fucking talking doll. Also features superfag Alexis
Arquette (Wigstock, Frisk) as Jennifer Tilly's
boyfriend, not to mention a completely random shirtless car-washing
scene from the lead eye-candy, Nick Stabile (Sunset Beach,
Undressed). |
| |
| Bride
of Frankenstein |
James
Whale |
1935 |
|
| A
definitive piece of classic horror moviemaking, Bride of Frankenstein
has it all: lush sets and costumes, thrills and chills, comic relief,
arch British humor, and a sweeping orchestral score that is so out-of-place
for a horror film that it is, indeed, pitch-perfect for this one.
See, "Bride" is not your typical Universal horror pic. Gay
director James Whale, hot off the success of the original and
other efforts, set out to make a scary, wacky dark comedy that would
scare, amuse, and move his audience -- an enormous feat and one that
he and his talented cast and crew somehow manage to pull off. Between
murky, creepy scenes in graveyards, towers, and burned-out windmills,
we have scenes featuring goofy miniature-sized royalty and "Miracle
Worker"-style subplots where an old blind hermit teaches the
Monster to speak. Above it all, we have the campy Ernest Thesiger
as the evil Doctor Pretorius, the most seething, slimy homo-flavoured
villian of his day, and the stunning, albeit brief, appearance of
the freakish Bride herself, played by Elsa Lanchester (wife
of the closeted Charles Laughton) with a bird-like, fidgety
stuntedness that is truly unsettling. The incessant dolly moves and
cutting edge photographic effects keep things moving at a quick pace,
and the film seems short even as it clocks in at 75 minutes. The final
scene featuring the birth of the Bride is a must-watch: the rapid-fire
cutting was revolutionary for the day. |
| |
| The
Brotherhood 2: Young Warlocks |
David
DeCoteau |
2001 |
|
| Another
in the seemingly endless series of David DeCoteau "D&A"
diet-horror films, The Brotherhood 2: Young Warlocks is entirely
without redeeming value beyond some assorted eye-candy that would
seem more at home in a Gillette Mach 3 razor commercial.
The cute but apparently retarded John and his friends are outcasts
at their prepschool until Luc, "the new kid", arrives
and starts throwing his mojo around. Besides looking like every
male flight attendant I've ever had, Luc is otherwise unthreatening,
and the boys are even willing to engage in a "Girls Gone
Wild"-style underwear pool party -- Seagram's and
all! There's lots of shirtless men (including one of the most heinous
actors I've ever seen -- keep your eyes peeled for Toad-Boy and
you'll know exactly what I mean), not much plot, and when all is
said and done nothing is any more shocking than what you'd see on
an episode of Goosebumps. I mean, come on -- there's no nudity,
no gore, not even profanity. If you're into SoloFlex infomercials,
you'll find the same painfully overstated gay subtext and ham-handed
filmmaking at work here. |
| Rating
(out of 5): |
 |
|
| Cabin
Fever |
Eli
Roth |
2002 |
|
| The
seemingly endless parade of disappointing horror films continues,
with this mess of a film stacking up somewhere between House of
1000 (er, make it 7) Corpses and Freddy vs. Jason vs. Monica
Keena's Cleavage. Swinging wildly between parody and gross-out
movie, the film starts promisingly with a tacked-on credits sequence
that sets up a foreboding mood entirely absent from the rest of the
film. The movie is populated with dozens of stupid throwaway characters
(which all but scream "I went to high school with the director
and I'm really fun at parties!") and the last 5 minutes lapses
bizarrely into a Naked Gun movie. There are a few icky gross-out
moments, but nothing even remotely scary -- imagine a horror film
of someone sneezing on a crowded bus for 90 minutes and you've pretty
much got it. The words of the day are: silly, pretentious, uneven,
and dull. Oh, yeah - and what's the significance to a gay audience?
They use the word "fag" in a defiant, non-PC way!
Crazy kids. For a full review, click HERE. |
| Rating
(out of 5): |
  |
|
| Cemetery
Man (Dellamorte, Dellamorte) |
Michele
Soavi |
1994 |
|
| A
very, very odd film. Based on a graphhic novel about a cemetery
groundskeeper whose real job is dispatching the zombies that rise
from their graves every night, Cemetery Man is part horror
film, part romance, and part existentialist drama -- all carried
on the waxed and moisturized bare shoulders of gay actor (and Madonna
collaborator) Rupert Everett. Along with his mute sidekick
Gnaghi, Dellamorte keeps the undead at bay until he falls for the
breathtaking Anna Falchi at her husband's funeral. After
having some hot graveyard-sex, she's bitten and he must dispatch
of her. But wait -- she comes back; so does this mean when he killed
her the first time she wasn't a zombie? Things get very complicated
for our oft-naked hero, and in the end we've wandered into decidedly
post-modern territory, with our heroes at the end of the earth and
Gnaghi speaking the final line. Although this destination might
not be everyone's cup of tea, the trip there is quite interesting,
with lots of splatter, fantastic cinematography, and plenty of naked
Rupert. Director Michele Soavi, known for his giallo-influenced
gore flicks of the 80's (the gay-friendly Stage Fright, The
Church), is in fine form here. |
| |
| Cherry
Falls |
Geoffrey
Wright |
2000 |
|
| Arrghhhh.
Very frustrating slasher movie that bumps up against greatness but
sadly falls short. The concept: killer stalks virgins in a small town
to punish the parents for a past misdeed. The idea of "stealing
innocence" is fantastic, and the twist on the whole punitive
killer idea flips all slasher tropes on their head -- instead of the
bad kids getting it, here the good kids have to give it up to take
themselves off the hit list. So how is this queer? Well, heroine Brittany
Murphy has a gay friend (camped up by real-life genderpolitico
Keram Malicki-Sánchez, also in the wretched Happy
Campers, the "Earshot" episode of Buffy,
and much more) who of course gets it, as queers in a small-town high
schools generally don't have much chance to get their rocks off until
they move away to a big city and go to college. Not that I speak from
experience. Anyway, I say "frustrating" because the film
released on DVD is obiously not the dark, mean, nasty film that director
Wright (known for the hyper-violent Romper Stomper) shot --
the studio cut oodles of nasty gore footage to tame it down. So what
could have been a shocking treatment of what happens when middle-class
morals are violenty threatened and teens are forced to entertain their
primal urges (rather than suppress them) becomes a middle-of-the-road
slasher with blatant gaps in pacing and tone. Where's the director's
cut?! Also features horror and/or queer-friendly regulars Jesse
Bradford (Bring It On, Swimfan) Clementine Ford
(Cybill Shepherd's daughter, who here was originally the victim
in what was reportedly the longest death scene ever filmed, before
it was of course cut from the movie), Douglas Spain (Star
Maps, But I'm a Cheerleader, Nightstalker), Jay
Mohr (Go), and of course Murphy (Freeway, Drop
Dead Gorgeous). Still worth a look. |
| |
| Click:
The Calendar Girl Killer |
Ross
Hagan and John Stewart |
1989 |
|
| Two
words: WHITE. HOT.
This
is simply one of the hottest movies EVER MADE. Completely incomprehensible
and lacking of all criteria that generally make a movie watchable,
Click fortunately has enough teased-out hair and women in
bikinis firing automatic weapons to more than make up for it.
The
plost is entirely nonexistent: an ugly old photographer lures a
group of women to his California ranch to ostensibly shoot a calendar
of women brandishing deadly weapons (we don't see it, but we assume
that mountains of cocaine are involved in this transaction). Unfortunately,
the man is a thinly-veiled freakshow who, thanks to early-year abuse
at the hand of a fat nurse, dresses up in drag and kills any woman
he gets a hardon for. Think Psycho starring Sally Struthers
as Mrs. Bates and you've pretty much summed it up. Fortunately,
the filmmakers don't let things like plot get in the way -- nor,
for that matter, film, acting, dialogue, continuity, or taste: what
lies between the proximal ends of this 79-minute wonder is a treasure
trove of bad filmmaking cliches and aggressively bad fashion. Think
Eyes of Laura Mars meets Spookies. Think The Fan
meets Gator Bait. Think whatever the hell you want -- there's
no getting around the undisputable power of a woman in a crop-top
screaming in agony as she fires a machine gun, only to be yelled
at by the photographer, "You're holding on to it like a limp
dick!".
Crossdressing
and woofed-out hair aside, there's tons of camp elements here. The
token male models have a very iffy relationship (one even gives
the other a flower in a tender scene, prompting him to shyly respond,
"You may not be so dumb after all") and one spends most
of the time either shirtless or spasming in one of many bulletstorms
he's forced to endure in the name of "high fashion". The
girls are uniformly preposterous, with some of the most gloriously
misguided costumes in the history of the cinema (watch for the "Bow
Trio" accessory ensemble that makes the lead's head look like
it came straight from a Sears Bridal Registry). Even the fact that
Troy Donahue stumbles through a few scenes can't lend any
cache to the tacky proceedings, and an endless parade of pathetic
plot elements (such as the world's oldest private detective, a
Britney Fox ripoff party band, and any number of mind-numbingly
ridiculous photo shoot scenes, most of which closely resemble the
last 15 minutes of The Wild Bunch -- only with more taffeta)
keeps things intensely watchable. Turn it into a drinking game --
a shot every time they switch from film to video -- and you're in
for a night of trashy, fabulous fun.
Side
note: keep your eyes open for genre vets Susan Jennifer Sullivan
(Friday 7), Jack Vogel (Demon Wind), and
sequel queen Juliette Cummins (Friday 5, Psycho
3, Slumber Party Massacre 2). |
| Rating
(out of 5): |
  |
|
| Clownhouse |
Victor
Salva |
1988 |
|
| Wow.
This movie is remarkable in that it would be scary even if you didn't
know about the lawsuit that stemmed from its production -- namely
that Victor Salva had inappropriate relations with one of the underage
actors. Some genuinely good scares and looming sense of dread keep
this little chiller from dipping into medeocrity. A young Sam Rockwell
shows strong signs of the charismatic actor he'll grow into. Members
of NAMBLA will put this in heavy rotation. |
| |
| Criminal
Lovers |
Francois
Ozon |
1999 |
|
| Former
Enfant Terrible Francois Ozon (who matured enormously in
his fantastic later films, including Under the Sand, Swimming
Pool, and 8 Women) turned in this nasty little gay fable
early in his career, when his metaphors were a bit more up-front
and his touch less graceful. Still, the film is an interesting watch
and has some fantastic sexual tension and a clever play on the Hansel
and Gretel tale.
Luc
and Alice (the Lovers of the title) kill a classmate in a shower
(upon Alice's request) and make a run for the countryside, where
they hit a rabbit with their car and are taken hostage by a strange
mountain man. Luc is then made to be the man's servant and eventual
love object, while Alice is locked in the basement. Luc's sexual
awakening (he was impotent with Alice) at the hands of this creepy
man is interesting to watch, and his eventual ability to make love
to Alice after their escape raises questions regarding sexual aggression
and passivity more than just orientation. Of course, as this is
a horror film, their Eden (complete with frolicking animals)
is short-lived and Ozon deals out the punishment as he sees fit:
death for one, incarceration for another, the isolation of self-knowledge
for the third. Watch to find out which comes to whom. |
| |
| |
| How
can you not love a film featuring none other than Australia's answer
to Madonna herself, Kylie Minogue?
Well,
when it's Cut -- that's how. Shoddy, cliched horror/spoof
about a film crew trying to finish a film started years earlier,
where production was halted to to some bloody murders -- including
Miss Minogue herself, thus ending any reason to watch the rest of
the film. Molly Ringwald, however, is unfortunately allowed
to live (some horrible accounting error in Hell?) and is brought
back years later by a plucky group of film students who have discovered
the "curse" on the project (it's called "Hot-Blooded"
-- eew) and want to finish the filming.
Fortunately,
included in this group is a feisty lesbian (Hester, played by Sarah
Kants), who is allowed a quick kiss on-screen and is NOT, oddly
enough, used for tittilation purposes. Of course, she ends up in
a log saw -- but baby steps, people -- baby steps! The flick has
a few decent scare scenes (I liked the kitchen scene myself) but
has such a stupid ending that ultimately you'll be disappointed.
But on the bright side -- the killer's tagline, "Now...
you die" (in a great Aussie accent) gave my friend David
and I months of voicemail enjoyment. |
| Rating
(out of 5): |
  |
|
| Dahmer |
David
Jacobson |
2002 |
|
| Surprisingly
sensitive and well-made account of Jeffrey Dahmer's spiral into
madness. The film bases the origins of Dahmer's psychosis on a fumbled
gay encounter in high school, which led to a cycle of shame and
violence. Thankfully we are not made to watch any killing -- the
story focuses more on the Whys than the Hows. Jeremy Renner
gives a complex and admirable performance -- his attractiveness
(which Dahmer shared) drives home the tragedy -- if Dahmer had not
been so convinced that no one would love him, he would have done
pretty well for himself (and of course spared dozens of innocent
lives). |
| Rating
(out of 5): |
  |
|
| Delta
Delta Die |
Devin
Hamilton |
2003 |
|
| Let
me be clear -- it's not a horror movie. Although there's
lots of blood and some icky cannibalism stuff thrown around, this
is a straight-up comedy with gratuitous male and female nudity and
lots of over-the-top acting. And while I generally frown upon comedies
masquerading as horror films, this one is so tied into the trashy
B tradition (as opposed to just being a half-assed, middle-of-the-road
"horror" movie that's watered down for the WB audience)
that I have no qualms recommending it.
Julie Strain is, in a word, insane. Anyone who bares her
breasts as much as she does in this film must either have some skin
condition that makes her breasts sensitive to clothing or an endorsement
deal with her plastic surgeon. Her portrayal of a house mother in
a cannibalistic SoCal sorority is the best of its kind. The girls
themselves (including half-sister Lizzie Strain and d-t-v
staple Tiffany Shepis -- also seen in the club kid opus Shampoo
Horns as the girl who takes too much ecstasy and wanders into
traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge) are adequate, but Strain and Brinke
Stevens really steal the show here. In one scene Brinke actually
tosses her hair over her right shoulder before explaining how she
and her friend fell into cannibalism as a necessity back in the
80's.
For
a full review, click HERE. |
| |
| Do
You Wanna Know a Secret? |
Thomas
Bradford |
2002 |
|
| Wow
-- lit like a soap opera, acted like a lost episode of Saved
by the Bell, and populated by intergenerational television has-beens,
this one is really something special. This incomprehensible film
starts in Connecticut (I think) with a scene stolen out of Exorcist
3 and then moves to Florida (I think) where we're treated to
all the fun trappings of direct-to-video horror, namely: rich kids
with the run of a gigantic house, nudity-free sex, booze, racial
profiling, "raves", random FBI involvement, goofy
masks, murders unrelated to the plot, and horrendous music. I mean,
REALLY horrendous music. I will admit that there were a few clever
scares (the fold-up ironing board, a tried-and-true gag since Clue,
is still effective here), but mostly it was horribly contrived.
Famously "outed" Dr. Quinn alum Chad Allen
somehow reminds me of Anthony Michael Hall in his awkward
Johnny B. Good phase, only with an added prescription medication
addiction. Take note of the name of the lead actress - and avoid
ever watching anything with her in it EVER AGAIN (it is telling
that she plays "Young Martha Stewart" in the tv
biopic). And it shakes me to the bone that I am about to write this
-- Joey Lawrence is one of the strong points of the movie.
Whew. I said it. Whoa! |
| Rating
(out of 5): |
 |
|
| The
Doom Generation |
Gregg
Araki |
1995 |
|
| Self-conscious
and silly, this installment in gay director Araki's crusade to convince
the world that LA is full of absolute maniacs boasts a handful of
queer (or queer-friendly) glitterati: Amanda Bearse, Margaret
Cho, Parker Posey, and -- get this -- gay porn star Zak
Spears (billed as Khristofor Rossianov). The dialogue is painful,
especially when coming out of Rose McGowan, and the gags
are flat. Still, the ending pushes things just far enough to be
a disturbance, and the battering of sexual boundaries of all kinds
sets this apart from the crowd. |
| Rating
(out of 5): |
  |
|
| Embrace
of the Vampire |
Anne
Goursaud |
1994 |
|
| Desperately
trying to keep its greasy head above the Skinemax water level,
Embrace of the Vampire is a movie that can't commit to anything
and therefore ends up as nothing. Pre-Charmed Alyssa Milano
find her inner Shannon Tweed in this breast-fueled crapfest,
which is staffed by one of the most confusing casts in recent memory:
Milano, Martin Kemp, Rachel True, Jordan Ladd,
and Jennifer Tilly all were somehow coerced into appearing
in this by-the-book erotic vampire nudie. Was it the fact that the
director, Anne Goursaud, was long-time editor for Francis
Ford Coppola and had cut his epic Bram Stoker's Dracula?
If so, pity for them -- this mess is more akin to One From the
Heart.
In short, Alyssa is a Polly Purebred goodie-two-shoes who was raised
by nuns and has a hunky yet "understanding" boyfriend.
But of course, she is the possible reincarnated long-lost love of
our resident nameless vampire, who is unfortunately cast by the
homely (at best) Kemp. Right off the bat we have a problem: it is
virtually impossible (in my mind, at least) to be either aroused
or frightened by a man who looks like Alan Cumming dressed
up for a Sadie Hawkins dance. In flashbacks stolen shot-for-shot
from Legend, we see that the vampire was stolen from his
bride by a few Penthouse Pets with fangs and cursed with
his condition (and perpetually greasy hair) for eternity. When he
sees virginal co-ed Charlotte, he decides to claim her. Enter the
local bimbos, who try to get Charlotte laid any which way they can
-- not to save her from the vampire, mind you, just because she's
a drag. She proceeds to start snogging everyone in sight, including
sharing an improbable yet fairly hot lesbian tryst with her photographer
neighbor while her boyfriend nurses a terminal case of blueballs
and the vampire follows her around like a Hare Krishna. Her boyfriend
is eventually very nearly seduced by Tilly in the strangest scene
of the film: Tilly is about to work some magic on him on a fire
escape, when he comes to his senses and pushes her away. Recoiling,
he sees that Tilly was actually Kemp in disguise (true -- the only
thing more horrifying than potentially receiving oral pleasure from
Jennifer Tilly would be potentially receiving oral pleasure from
Martin Kemp)! This somehow clues him in to the fact that Charlotte
is in danger and he saves her, and vampire returns to his loft to
sulk and, hopefully, deep-condition. Wasted actors, no script, no
gore, nothing. Unless you want to see Alyssa bring out the girls
a few times, this is one to skip. |
| Rating
(out of 5): |
 |
|
| The
Exorcist |
William
Friedkin |
1973 |
|
| Some
may wonder why this film would end up on a homo horror shopping
list, but there is a striking, if subtle, gay subplot at work here.
We all know the story by now, but it's the telling that makes Friedkin's
1973 film a classic. Restrained (as restrained as a film that features
a 12-year-old stabbing herself in the vagina with a crucifix while
screaming "Let Jesus fuck you!" could be, anyway), meticulously
paced, and boasting one of the most hushed tones I've ever seen
(listen for the now-famous "Tubular Bells" theme, and
you'll only find it once in the entire film -- and hardly a half-dozen
other music cues besides). You have the feeling that you're spying
on these people, and this forced intimacy is what pulls us into
the microcosmic battle between good and evil. The performances are
impeccable (Ellen Burstyn is at the same time a doting mother
and a selfish bitch, and blameless in both regards, while Linda
Blair has the distinction of reaching her acting apex before
needing a training bra), the photography beautiful, and the mood
impenetrable.
So what's the gay angle? Father Karras has a notable attachment
to his mother (beyond just being Italian, that is), and is friends
with a visibly effeminate priest who plays piano at Hollywood-type
cocktail parties and is the last person to be with Karras before
he dies (in a very tender moment at the close of the film). When
the devil (through Regan) tells Karras to fuck father Merrin (Max
von Sydow - not a pleasant thought even when not suggested by
the living embodiment of evil), he's getting at something that's
only hinted at in the film but in the novel (by William Peter
Blatty) is the concrete cause of Karras's overriding malaise:
his repressed sexuality. The film does not have a homo agenda by
any means, but a queer reading does shed some light on what is an
otherwise severely underdeveloped main character. |
| |
| Eyes
of Laura Mars |
Irvin
Kershner |
1975 |
|
| Now
this movie has it ALL! Mommie Dearest herself Faye Dunaway
plays a fashion photographer who likes to stage her supermodels
in scenes of boody carnage. Her queer assistant Rene Auberjonois
throws piano bar birthday parties for the sissy elite
in his apartment. She has a pair of lesbianic models who
live together and have a funny answering machine. Suddenly people
start dying in scenes that mimic Laura's photos, and what do you
know -- Laura can actually see through the killer's eyes as the
murders happen! There's more camp in this movie than in Yellowstone
fucking Park. The scene of Laura being chased through the warehouse
while she sees herself running away through the killer's eyes --
screaming "Donaaaaaaaaaald! Donaaaaaaaaaaaaaaald!!"
the whole time -- is one of the best scenes in film history. I can't
believe that drag queens don't reenact this entire film word for
word on an annual basis. Clever, gloriously shot, and with a fantastic
70's feel, this is one of the best queer-infused horror flicks out
there. Oh -- and did I mention that Barbra Streisand did
the theme song? |
| |
| The
Faculty |
Robert
Rodriquez |
1998 |
|
| One
of gay screenwriter Kevin Williamson's Big Three (along with
I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream), The
Faculty is similarly referential fodder for horror and sci-fi
geeks. Loaded with references to horror movies and teen movies alike,
The Faculty takes the whole Body Snatcher structure and puts
in a Texas high school that is oddly staffed by some fantastic character
actors (Bebe Neuwirth, Piper Laurie, John Stewart, Robert Patrick,
Salma Hayek, Famke Janssen). The kids themselves aren't anything
to snigger at either, with career-launching appearances by Clea
DuVall (Identity, Carnivale), Josh Hartnett
(Halloween H2O), Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings),
and Jordana Brewster (um... she dated Derek Jeter?).
Fun, fast, and clever, the movie is actually a fun ride, with lots
of references to keep you busy and some interesting gore and effects.
DuVall stands out as the girl that everyone calls "dyke",
and Wood emerges from puberty blissfully unscathed and ready for
a career as an adult. Hats off to Robert Rodriguez for showing
high school as the nasty, brutal place it is, and for giving the
spotlight to the underdogs (in this tale, the pretty people aren't
the ones you root for). |
| |
| The
Fan |
Edward
Bianchi |
1981 |
|
| One
of the most ridiculous and entertaining major disasters to ever
hit screens. Lauren Bacall plays Sally Ross, a pickled old
movie star trying to resurrect her career with a Broadway show called
"Never Say Never". Unfortunately, her tobacco-stained
idyll is threatened by the persistence of her biggest fan, Douglas
(Michael Biehn at his cutest). As Douglas starts haphazardly
slicing his way through the set pieces (including a YMCA, a gay
bar, and Maureen Stapleton), Sally smokes her weight in 120's
and desperately tries to keep James Garner from fleeing the
picture altogether. Trashy, scareless, and boasting one of the most
horrific musical sequences in history, The Fan is absolutely
essential viewing for any horror homo.
For
a complete review of this trainwreck, click HERE. |
| |
| Fear
No Evil |
Frank
LaLoggia |
1981 |
|
| "Meet
Andrew. The Road to Hell is Paved with His Victims."
Apparently
this tag-line is supposed to encapsulate one of the most mind-numbingly
scattered horror films I've ever seen. Part Omen, part Carrie,
part Exorcist, part Children Shouldn't Play with Dead
Things, part Deadly Blessing, and yes, even part Jaws,
Fear no Evil is a confusing, uneven, but very sincere mess
of a film that doesn't scare you so much as boggle you, and is a
proud leader in the horror subgenre I like to call Jockstrap
Horror: horror films that take place mostly in gym locker rooms.
Ubercamp
Stefan Arngrim plays Andrew, a queeny, skinny mess of a high
school senior who gets full rides to Harvard and Yale but can't
seem to make it through gym class without being beaten or molested
(sound familiar, fellas?). Of course, he is the embodiment of pure
evil -- Lucifer -- and has been reborn to enslave the entire human
race. And for this, his classmates hate him. No, wait -- they don't
know about the whole "devil made flesh" thing -- they
just hate him because he's fey and gets good grades. The school
tough (think John Travolta in "Carrie") picks on
him in the shower and actually kisses him for some ungodly
reason, and he loses his cool and forces the gym coach to kill a
fellow student with a dodgeball. Before you can say "reincarnated-archangel-old-biddies-and-puffy-faced-hotties",
Michael and Gabriel are hot on his trail, forcing him to lash out
at a beachfront Passion Play, inducing stigmata left and right,
creating a Christian riot, and striking Jesus with lightning. A
group of dumb kids get attacked by his zombies, and he appears in
a Bob Mackie-inspired evening gown and gives t | |