This Weekend’s VOD Favorites: An Extra Special (and Scary) Friday the 13th Edition!
The Gay Cinema Video On Demand experience at TLAgay.com has your entertainment needs covered! We’re always working to expand selection of new and old gay-themed movies available for your viewing pleasure. As it’s FRIDAY THE 13TH (muahaha!), we’re spotlighting TEN of our favorite gay-themed horror and thriller flicks – ALL available to watch INSTANTLY! These aren’t our all time favorites, by any means – just a handful of flicks we want to highlight that you can watch RIGHT NOW.
Alpha Delta Zatan
Starring an all-male of cast of staggeringly attractive, underwear-clad up-and-comers (including Jeremy Winter, Jake Kidwell, Connor Field, Drake Malone and R&B singer Eleaze), Alpha Delta Zatan delivers audiences a fun, sensual spin on the “sorority massacre” sub-genre of horror flicks. A goofy but noble young college kid is pleasantly surprised to learn that he’s been invited to join his school’s most exclusive fraternity house. Unfortunately, he’s about to discover that there is something far scarier than hazing rituals in his future. His new frat brothers seem to keep going missing. In this house, no one can be trusted and no one is safe… especially one the masked, knife-wielding slasher shows up. Funny, sexy and scary, this new low-budget horror treat is a new TLA Exclusive on DVD and Blu-ray. It’s also available to stream right now.
B&B
“They made their bed… now they’ll have to die in it.” B&B earned a whole lot of praise from LGBT horror/thriller/suspense fans at festivals and now it’s available to watch at TLAgay! Lovers Marc and Fred (Tom Bateman and Sean Teale) initiated a major legal battle after they were refused a double bed at a remote Christian guest house. They came out of their court case victorious and now they’re back at the establishment to claim their conjugal rights. Triumph, however, quickly turns to terror when a scary Russian neo-Nazi also checks in. Their weekend of celebratory fun soon becomes a bloody battle for survival. B&B is a whip-smart and brutally funny dark comedy-thriller that has earned rave reviews from critics – some of whom have even compared it to the work of Alfred Hitchcock. The Hollywood Outsiders, specifically, called it “a film Alfred Hitchcock would be proud of.” The Horror Society said it’s “frickin’ fantastic and a trailblazer for LGBT cinema.”
Bite Marks
Hunky truck driver Brewster (Benjamin Lutz) takes over his missing brother’s delivery of coffins. On the way to his funeral home destination, he picks up some hitchhikers: the cute and wise-cracking Cary (Windham Beacham) and his smitten but tense boyfriend Vogel (David Alanson). The couple’s relationship is on the rocks (though that doesn’t stop them from some hot-and-noisy gas station toilet sex, which ignites the repressed homo in the voyeuristic Brewster). With dicks firmly back in pants, trouble descends on the threesome when a faulty GPS leads them into a deserted junkyard – where the truck promptly breaks down. Normally, this would not be a terrible situation (more hot sex, anyone?), but this night is far from normal – as an assortment of blood-thirty vampires begin to attack! Now, the mismatched trio must fend off the marauding monsters and try to survive until dawn. With plenty of witty asides, sexy encounters and flesh-tearing scenes, this low budget gem delivers the gory goods.
Black Briefs
Curated by prolific writer/director Rob Williams (Make the Yuletide Gay, Shared Rooms) for his distribution label Guest House Films, Black Briefs features six award-winning short films with pretty dark, horror or horror-adjacent stories and themes. When it comes to short film compilations, there is always something to recommend. If you don’t like the first one, chances are good there is a short just around the corner that you’re going to appreciate more. In Black Briefs, we really like Hong Khaou‘s steamy Spring, about a young man who meets up with a stranger for a little exploratory sadomasochistic sex; and Jack Plotnick‘s Video Night, in which a group of filmmaker buddies discover something unexpected in their raw footage. Our favorite, though, is Greg Ivan Smith‘s Remission. A man, all alone in a secluded cabin, awaiting the results of a serious medical test, is haunted by a terrifying presence. It’s genuinely chilling and it’s one of those rare movies that can create dread and unease even in its scenes set during the daytime.
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.
Deadly Screams of a Naked Siren
The newest ultra-erotic, sex and nudity-packed offering from the twink-lovers at Babaloo Studios, Deadly Screams of a Naked Siren introduces Christian (Tristan Adler) a college news reporter who sets out to interview Epiphany (Kory Anders), the niece of the only living person to escape a gender changing siren. The deadly siren (Orion Cross) is responsible for the murders of two young men Kevin McKendrick (James Townsend) and his abusive lover Danny Pennington (Todd Williams). Even though these events happened eleven years ago, Christian wants to know all the deviant sexual details. This new exclusive includes plenty of deleted scenes along with extra never-before-seen “sexy” footage. It’s all raw and unedited!
Der Samurai
Jakob (Michel Diercks) is a policeman in a village deep in the woods, where little happens… until the arrival of a mysterious wolf that is causing havoc. Working the night shift, Jakob is tracking the wolf, only to discover that the lupine lurker is actually a man clad only in lipstick and a ladies’ slip – and toting a samurai sword that he uses to lop off the heads of the townspeople, including Jakob’s tormentors. Jakob and the transvestite samurai seem to share a bond, and as the night gets darker, events get even weirder. Unlike any other horror film you’re likely to see, Der Samurai is a German mind-bender about shape-shifting cross-dressers, bloody decapitations, repressed sexual desires and small town life. It’s a surreal mix of dark comedy and eerie creep-out fun that recalls David Lynch and pays homage to, while often improving upon, the synth-soundtrack-packed horror classics of the 1980s.
Devil’s Path
In the early 1990s, two strangers (Stephen Twardokus and JD Scalzo) meet in a wilderness park where gay men cruise for sex. What seems like an innocent and random meeting quickly descends into a horrific nightmare. With recent disappearances and attacks, the two men soon find themselves in the terrifying position of being the next victims in a deadly game of cat and mouse. As they flee further into the woods to escape the danger, they begin to understand that the greatest danger of all may be closer than either of them realize. Will these two strangers be able to work together to defeat the darkness that has settled in on Devil’s Path? Or will their own secrets and lies lead them to be the next two missing persons in this perilous park? This riveting new gay thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Kissing Darkness
TLA fan favorite Sean Paul Lockhart (known to porn aficionados as the legendary Brent Corrigan) stars alongside a bunch of similarly stunning hot young dudes! Kissing Darkness follows a group of college boys who, bored with the everyday “gay life” of LA, decide to skip pride weekend. Instead, they gear up for a camping trip in the woods. Maybe we should all just commit to staying in the city. Quickly into their trip, the boys venture into a game that ultimately unleashes the vengeful spirit of a local legend known as “Malice Valeria.” Overcome by her deadly plan of tainted love and her thirst to take back what was lost long ago, the boys must now band together before they fall victim to the poisons of a broken heart. Directed by James Townsend (Sideline Secrets, Unsolved Suburbia), this unbelievably sexy new vampire flick with softcore erotic elements doesn’t skimp on the blood or the beautiful, scantily clad young beefcake.
Knife+Heart
Easily one of the most acclaimed gay films of the past year, 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.
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 proved itself a big hit at film fests – not just LGBT festivals, but general horror film festivals as well, where it has earned rave reviews.
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.
