Director: Paul Etheredge-Ouzts
Year: 2004
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
Out on Halloween night, a police officer warns his friends that a serial killer may be on the loose that is targeting homosexual men, which they ignore as it will interfere with their partying, but when they encounter the killer must try to find a way of escaping his rampage.
Review:
This one here is actually not that bad when it really comes down to it. Among the better aspects here is that the film embraces the gay lifestyle incredibly well, as it has all the boys, booze, and bacchanalia one could want instead of the usual T&A of the standard slasher flicks. The difference in this case is that the horny couple are both male that imparts them into the same type of scenes and scenarios that would usually be featured in straight setups and sequences. In a pitch-perfect homage to old school horror, the film opens on a stereotypical hot and bothered horny couple making out in their car in the park at night in a secluded spot where we're shown a shadowy figure skulking ever closer. The figure emerges in the moonlight, showing us a glint of scythe, a Mephisto-style devil mask before he strikes a fatal, tryst-ending blow, decapitating them both and taking the heads as trophies. These types of scenes play off the style and tone really well, making it appear to fit in with the genre while also keeping up its different point all the better.
Beyond this, the rest of the film takes great pains to paint the lifestyle and characters involved rather openly and straightforwardly. The group of friends go through the kind of usual flirting and pre-dance celebrations that involve primping and styling that goes for the kind of impartiality and non-judgment that should denote this kind of lifestyle, where they’re not treated differently for wanting to go dress up in drag and head out onto the town. The extensive focus on the nightclub lifestyle involving plenty of drug use and free sex without any kind of hangups makes for a fun time here, especially once the killings start, with several scenes directly linked to the killer targeting the couple on their way to or from sleeping with each other, helping this tremendously.
When it decides to go for the horror aspects, the results are just spectacular. One standout moment involves a couple of clubgoers finding a headless body slumped in a toilet cubicle, covered in blood, initially thinking it's an elaborate Halloween joke until the body twitches, which sends them all into hysterics. Another fantastic scene has the killer off a victim on a crowded dance floor, stabbing them in the gut with a sickle before decapitating them as the strobe-lights work overtime, which works extremely well in the context of a slasher flick set around the theatrics of a Halloween night carnival. Easily the best, though, is when one character is outlandishly saved by his glass eye stopping the killer's sickle piercing his brain as the sight of the blade touching the eye with the metallic clink plainly heard, the suspense set up to ensure a great site, and a tense moment leading up to it. The unnamed, motiveless murderer is appropriately dark, shadowy, and merciless in his killing, mainly through the use of decapitations, resulting in many nice splatter moments. Mixed together with a stupendous pace and some wonderful humor, this one manages to be really entertaining.
This one here has a couple of flaws, though they aren't big and important. One of the issues is that there's nothing groundbreaking in the depiction of gay men behind closed doors or even out reveling in the West Hollywood Halloween Festival. That might have made this film a bit more interesting, instead of having it be just a different take on the tired old slasher clichés. If the film really wanted to be truly different, we would have seen more of what one sees in the typical slasher movie, the T&A and simulated sex, only in this film, it would have been male genitalia and ass with the simulated sex. This has plenty of opportunities to do so, and while those may not be for some out there, based on the very nature of its themes. The other problem with this is that the kills aren't all that graphic, even though they are decapitations. It really should've used another style of death to help make an even bigger impression, as none of the kills are really as bloody as they could've been, but these parts here are what really hold this one down.
Overview: ****/5
An absolutely enjoyable homosexual slasher, this has enough about it to be enjoyed by those who enjoy that style of film while also making it easy for heterosexual ones to get something out of it as well. This is mostly recommended to fans of both styles or those looking to enjoy a traditional slasher anyway, while those who can't get past the themes and issues should heed caution.
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