10 Recent Gay Movies to Watch on Halloween
The pumpkins are lit, the neighborhood children are stuffed with candy and there’s a crisp chill in the air. It’s Halloween Night and that means it’s time to kick back and relax with a scary movie! Here are 10 recent gay films we liked a lot that we feel might fit the occasion…
Knife+Heart
Easily one of the most acclaimed gay films of the year so far, this sexually explicit throwback thriller from visionary writer-director Yann Gonzalez is an absolute must-see! Vanessa Paradis is incredible as Anne, a savvy French woman who produces third-rate gay porn. After her editor and lover Lois (Kate Moran) leaves her, she tries to win her back by shooting her most ambitious film yet – with the help of her trusted, flaming sidekick Archibald (Nicolas Maury). But when one of her actors is brutally murdered, Anne gets caught up in a strange investigation that turns her life upside-down. Shot on 35mm and featuring a killer retro score from the band M83, Knife+Heart is an ultra-stylish and blood-soaked ode to 1970s-era Brian De Palma, Dario Argento and William Friedkin.
Shadowlands
Directed by Charlie David, Shadowlands is a sexy and stylish anthology film that features three different stories that exploring the erotic and the macabre. The series begins in 1928 with Alex, a plastic surgeon hell-bent on perfection, hosting a house party with an assortment of colorful guests. Amid romantic misfires it becomes apparent that the only person Alex is interested in is himself. Fast forward to 1951 where we meet a gay military couple exploring the idea of opening their relationship while on a remote camping trip… where they meet a mysterious stranger. The stories conclude in 2018 when a painter, mourning the loss of his lover, becomes obsessed with creating a realistic painting of him. The resulting piece is so beautiful and life-like that he is drawn under its dangerous spell.
The Year I Lost My Mind
From prolific German director Tor Iben (Love Kills, The Passenger, The Visitor) comes a brand-new thriller about a lonely young man who becomes dangerously obsessed with a perfect stranger. After encountering him during a burglary, Tom (Alexander Tsypilev), a disturbed young man prone to wearing creepy masks that obscure his quite handsome features, begins stalking and antagonizing the attractive young Lars (Julien Lickert). When Lars finally discovers that Tom is on his tail, and that his intentions may be somewhat sinister, he manages to turn the tables on him, leading to a unexpected game of cat-and-mouse and a shocking confrontation. Sexy and unsettling in equal measure, the tension is palpable in this stylish drama with shades of Alfred Hitchcock.
Lyle
Expecting couple Leah (Gaby Hoffmann) and June (Ingrid Jungermann) move into a Brooklyn apartment with their toddler daughter Lyle. Despite the strange baby-obsessed landlady downstairs and the group of female models who live above them, the two are happy with their new apartment until a bizarre accident leads to the traumatizing death of their beloved baby girl. Months later, Leah is still grief-stricken, trying to make sense of Lyle’s death, her landlady’s odd behaviors and her attraction to one of the models upstairs. As Leah prepares for her home birth, she begins to suspect the neighbors are involved in a satanic pact and fears for her unborn baby (shades of Rosemary’s Baby with a lesbian point of view). Gaby Hoffmann delivers a phenomenally committed performance in this psychological thriller. Lyle was the first feature-length film from talented, off-kilter female director Stewart Thorndike. She worked with Stanley Kubrick on Eyes Wide Shut, so you know you’re in good hands.
Rift
Paying homage to classic art-house horror films like Robert Wise’s The Haunting and Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now, Rift is an enticing, well-acted and expertly-directed mystery-thriller from Iceland that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Gunnar receives a strange phone call from his ex-boyfriend, Einar, months after they parted ways. Einar sounds distraught, like he’s about to do something terrible to himself, so Gunnar drives to the secluded cabin where Einar is holed up and soon discovers there is more going on than he imagined. As the two come to terms with their broken relationship, some other person seems to be lurking outside the cabin, wanting to get inside. Eerie and stylishly crafted, Rift has proven a big hit at film fests – not just LGBT festivals, but general horror film festivals as well, where it has earned rave reviews.
The Breeding
Winner of the “Best Feature” award at the 2018 Harlem International Film Festival, The Breeding is a bold new erotic thriller about a young African American artist whose obsession with a taboo fetish leads to life-altering consequences. The story centers around a discontent, sex-positive queer cartoonist named Thomas (Marcus Bellamy), whose artistic inspiration comes from erotic escapades that are unbeknownst to his loving boyfriend Amadi (David J. Cork). A chance restroom encounter with a recently divorced financier named Lee (Joe MacDougal) leaves Thomas curious about exploring the taboo fetish of “race play.” But when the game goes past role-playing and becomes all too problematically real, chilling actions are taken that will forever change the trajectory of these men’s lives.
My Friend Dahmer
Jeffrey Dahmer murdered seventeen men and boys in the American Midwest, becoming one of history’s most infamous serial killers. This is the story before that story. Jeff (Former Disney Channel and current Chilling Adventures of Sabrina star Ross Lynch is a stunning breakthrough role) is an awkward teenager struggling to make it through high school with a family life in ruins. His bizarre behavior at school attracts unexpected friends, a group of band-nerds who form “The Dahmer Fan Club” and invite him into their circle. But as they near graduation, Jeff’s depravity and unusual sexual compulsions drive him further out of control. Based on the wildly acclaimed 2012 graphic novel of the same name by real-life Dahmer classmate and former friend Derf Backderf (played in the film by Hereditary star Alex Wolff), My Friend Dahmer is a unique and thoroughly unsettling thriller.
You’re Killing Me
An intriguing mix of horror and romantic comedy, You’re Killing Me shows what happens when George, a narcissistic wannabe internet star, meets Joe, a monotone serial killer. When George (Jeffery Self) catches the attention of Joe (Matthew McKelligon) they immediately begin dating. While all of George’s friends agree that Joe seems a bit strange, George claims his new beau “isn’t scary, he’s gorgeous.” But as George’s friends start to disappear, the remaining group decides to take matters into their own hands. Directed and co-written by Jim Hansen (creator of The Chloe Videos with Drew Droege), this gay “mumblegore” mixture of Dexter and Gilmore Girls blends witty banter, pop culture references and good old- fashioned murder. You’re Killing Me will have you laughing hysterically as you cover your eyes in fear.
Possum
A disgraced children’s puppeteer (regular Mission: Impossible series bad-guy Sean Harris) returns to his dilapidated childhood home and lecherous stepfather (Alun Armstrong), intent on destroying ‘Possum’, a hideously malformed spider-puppet he carries with him in a brown leather case. His mind flooded with painful half-memories and nightmarish visions, he soon finds himself embroiled in a local investigation for a missing boy, progressively unsure of what is real and what isn’t. All the while Possum seems to mock his suffering at every turn. A hallucinatory venture into a truly damaged psyche, writer-director Matthew Holness’ Possum is a twisted trip of terror where both nothing and everything is exactly as it seems.
A Closer Walk with Thee
A Closer Walk with Thee is a subversive little provocation we’re really excited about. Jordan (Aj Knight), a young Christian missionary, gets caught watching his handsome pastor Eli (Gregory Shelby) in the shower. The rest of his church ostracizes him until Eli (who happens to be a fledgling exorcist) suggests it may be demonic possession that’s giving Jordan his ungodly homosexual urges. What starts as an exorcism to save their friendship quickly descends into psycho-sexual madness. An award-winner at film festivals, A Closer with Thee has earned some rave reviews from horror-savvy critics, Cineounx said it’s “like what would happen if someone handed Todd Solondz as exorcism script and said, ‘knock yourself out'” and Parade said it “Mixes exorcism, homoeroticism and evangelistic angst in a combo that clearly doesn’t cater to the Sunday School crowd.” On top of everything else, lead actors Aj Knight and Gregory Shelby really make the screen sizzle. Their “hot young pastor and obedient church boy” dynamic is definite dirty fantasy fuel.
