Category: Drugs

Get seduced by the erotic, mystical queer allegory and stoner comedy ‘A Dim Valley’

Young actors Whitmer Thomas and Zach Weintraub star in A Dim Valley as ecology grad students Albert and Ian.

The pair are spending the summer collecting samples with their curmudgeonly advisor played by ‘Midnight Mass’ and ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ star Robert Longstreet. At his woodsy cabin along the Appalachian Trail, close quarters foster comical friction and unexpected bonds between the two young men.

When three mysterious, enigmatic female backpackers (played by Rachel McKeon, Feathers Wise and Rosalie Lowe) crash into their lives, they push the men to open up to one another… and their true feelings and desires soon begin to deepen.

A clever new indie gem from writer-director Brandon Colvin, A Dim Valley is partly a queer allegory, partly a hilarious stoner comedy and partly a transcendental meditation on mysticism and love.

Watch the trailer for A Dim Valley below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Director Marco Berger explores toxic masculinity and homoerotic tension in ‘Horseplay’

During a scorching Argentine holiday, a group of male friends get together at a luxury villa. They drink, party hard, make videos together… and begin to test one another’s boundaries. A rare mix of homophobia and horseplay come together to create a wildly homoerotic atmosphere.

A twisted triangle of friends – a repressed gay man, a secret bisexual boy and a complete homophobe – will push the simmering tensions to their breaking point.

Prolific writer-director Marco Berger, the award-winning filmmaker behind Taekwondo, Hawaii, Young Hunter and The Blonde One, expertly amplifies the homoerotic undercurrents of male friendships – exploring his characters’ toned physiques as much as their inner thoughts.

While the surface of Horseplay has a wealth of eye-candy, the film also offers an intelligent and challenging critique of masculinity in its most toxic and dangerous form.

Watch the very NSFW trailer for Horseplay below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Burn Bridge

If you’ve ever harbored secret romantic feelings for a straight best friend, you’ll find a lot to relate to in Burn Bridge, a 15-minute slice-of-life drama from British writer-director Rhys Marc Jones.

Charlie Rice stars as Harry, a typically angst-filled teen whose hormonal frustrations have been causing him to act out in increasingly mischievous ways. That’s also partly due to the influence of Jamie, his roguish and perpetually horny best buddy played by Macaulay Cooper.

The two smoke pot and drink together, pull pranks and joke around in that mildly aggressive, boys-will-be-boys kind of manner. But all the while, Jamie remains aloof to Charlie’s growing desires.

Exploring his sexuality alone in the safe confines of his bedroom only does so much to alleviate Charlie’s deep longing. When Jamie starts hooking up with a local girl named Lucy, who has a friend she wants to set up with Charlie, jealousy rears its ugly head and those barely-concealed feelings start inching ever closer toward the light.

Filmed in a matter-of-face style, Burn Bridge offers up an unflinching examination of those lusty teen infatuations that can be hard to shake.

Watch a clip from Burn Bridge below. The full short film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

In ‘Drifter,’ a young gay man reinvents himself in the hedonistic party capital of Europe

Dreaming of a life of urban gay bliss, a 22-year-old moves to Berlin to be with his more cosmopolitan photographer boyfriend, but finds his life completely upended when he’s dumped shortly after arriving.

Drifter stars Lorenz Hochhuth as Moritz, the 22-year-old in question. Alone in a new city where he doesn’t know anyone – and with little more than a clarinet to his name – Moritz is pushed to reimagine his life as a single gay man in the hedonistic party capital of Europe.

Trading his small town appearance for a more gender-fluid/classic punk aesthetic, Moritz dives into the city’s vibrating techno world and learns to express his repressed desires, but he also starts to lose himself in drugs and emotional alienation.

With the help of his queer friends, he soon develops his own ideas of sexuality and masculinity, leading him a little closer to finding himself.

From first-time feature director Hannes Hirsch, Drifter is a riveting film that looks beneath the seductive surface of a hedonistic culture, revealing the actual people who live and thrive within.

Watch the trailer for Drifter below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Straight friends take their relationship to a new level in the 12-minute short ‘I Don’t Know’

Two straight buddies find themselves unexpectedly pushing the boundaries of their sexuality in French writer-director Jérémy Barlozzo’s 12-minute comedy short I Don’t Know.

Best friends William and Clement (William Dentz and Clement Olivieri) both have a romantic interest in a girl named Alice (Noemie Schmidt).

After the trio have dinner together at Clement’s apartment, the buddies try to figure out which one of them she likes more. Soon, however, they discover that Alice is only really interested in going to bed with them if they come as a pair – and express the same level of desire for one another as they do for her.

With their comfort level challenged, the date doesn’t go particularly well. Alice leaves and the boys soon find themselves alone and reflecting on their open-mindedness about sexuality. After doing the dishes and sparking a joint, the prospect of sharing an intimate kiss suddenly doesn’t seem so unusual. William and Clement decide to attempt a passionate kiss and take their relationship to a new – and perhaps more emotionally evolved level.

Featuring terrific performances from all three lead actors, I Don’t Know is a thoughtful, funny and slyly sexy short about two straight boys learning some new tricks.

Watch a short teaser trailer for I Don’t Know below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Private Photos

Looking to add a little spice to their stagnant sex life, young partners Matheus and Rafa (Vinicius Neri and Lucas Galvino) decide to invite a third person into their bedroom. But when Felipe (Antonio Miano) arrives at their apartment, they seem to get more than they bargained for.

Rafa, a medical student, and Matheus, an architect, seem to live a pretty buttoned-up day-to-day existence. Felipe, who isn’t afraid to demand what he wants, has a mischievous, devil-may-care attitude that excites Rafa, but clashes with Matheus’s mild manner.

When Felipe lights up a joint and starts dancing provocatively for the pair, they end up falling into bed, but it quickly becomes clear that two of the participants are having a lot more fun than the third.

The night ends up taking an unexpected turn. Though they were seeking sexual exploration, the couple end up exploring their emotions and their satisfaction with one another, leading to a surprising ‘make-it-or-break-it’ moment.

Beautifully directed by Brazilian filmmaker Marcelo Grabowsky and featuring bold performances from all three lead actors, Private Photos is a sexually-frank 20-minute short about a gay couple who are starting to learn what they really want when it comes to life, love and lust.

Watch a short teaser trailer for Private Photos below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

Short Film Spotlight: Sapphire

A trippy, visually inventive British drama from director Leanne Hanley and screenwriter Harry Hains, Sapphire tells the story of a troubled young poet who is caught between two identities.

Ethan (Andreja Pejic) struggles with an addiction to both love and drugs. When they meet an alluring man on the street, a relationship develops that sends them deeper into their worst tendencies.

The films flashes back and forth through time, observing different periods in Ethan’s life – the abyss of addiction, the thrill of first love, a moment of reflection and honesty in a therapist’s office and, finally, a fantasy world where they’re forced to make a choice.

Ethan looks to free himself from the abyss by becoming Sapphire, a glamorous alter ego. But whether or not this new identity will be enough to save them from their inner demons remains to be seen.

Watch a short trailer for Sapphire below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.

The provocative queer punk classic ‘Fögi is a Bastard’ gets a brand-new HD restoration

Set in Zurich during the early 1970s and boasting a killer soundtrack that includes the likes of punk legends The Stooges and The Velvet Underground, Fögi is a Bastard is an unflinchingly honest depiction of teenage infatuation and obsession from director Marcel Gisler.

Vincent Branchet stars as Beni, a sensitive 15-year-old romantic who has become completely besotted by Fögi (Frederic Andrau), the super-sexy front man to a local punk outfit called The Minks.

The wide-eyed, seemingly innocent Beni – who begins his courting of Fögi with lovingly penned letters – is welcomed into the gay punk musician’s world of partying and playing gigs. However, as Fögi slowly drifts from an ambitious music career to the addictive world of drugs, a wedge forms in their relationship.

Soon enough, Beni has become a submissive “dog” in their relationship and also begins supporting his lover through sex work.

With its raw depiction of urban life, ghettoized youth, working class angst and kinky gay male sex without compromise, Fögi is a Bastard is a must see for fans of coming-of-age cinema with alternative queer teen sensibilities and aesthetics.

Originally released in 1998, the film has been given a brand-new restoration by the cult distribution label Altered Innocence. It’s now available to stream on Dekkoo. Watch the trailer below.

Short Film Spotlight: Pipes

Fast-paced and visually inventive, Pipes, an impressively animated black and white short from co-directors Jessica Meier, Kilian Feusi and Sujanth Ravichandran, is packed with deliciously funny incident.

The 4-minute, dialog-free film follows an anthropomorphic cartoon bear who works as a plumber and is tasked with fixing the pipes at a kinky gay nightclub.

Shocked at the hedonistic display of gay pleasure on the dance floor, a fear of the unknown soon takes him over. His mind wanders down a kaleidoscopic rabbit hole of gay panic where pipes become body parts and body parts become pipes before he comes to his senses and realizes that there was never anything to be afraid of in the first place.

Cleverly-crafted, the film builds a bizarre cartoon world you won’t soon forget. If you’re never seen an animated alien do poppers before, you’re in for a weirdly specific treat!

Check out the poster for Pipes below. The short film is now streaming on Dekkoo. And, despite the cuddly characters and the positive message, be warned that this film is for grown-up viewers only.

Tainted Souls is a gritty and intense Italian crime drama

The complex lives of a group of seemingly different tenants in a cheap Roman apartment building come crashing together in Tainted Souls, an inventive and unsettling Italian crime drama.

Mauro (Maurizio Tesei) has manic ambitions that always seem to outpace his limited means. This causes great strife with his wife Simona (Giulia Bevilacqua). Looking to make something of himself, he gets involved in the business of local crime lord Carmine (Nuccio Siano), which may lead to his downfall.

Meanwhile, former bodybuilder Marcello (Vinicio Marchioni) is married to Chiara (Anna Foglietta), but having a secret affair with Walter (Vincenzo Salemme), a professor and author who also serves as the narrator of the story.

Between the walls of this rundown apartment complex just outside of Rome, all of these disparate lives converge into each other. Will anyone be left standing at the end of this intense character drama… or will a few wayward souls bring everyone down with them?

Watch the trailer for Tainted Souls below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.