Tag: Horror
New This Week – 4/22/21
Colm is a married man with two teenage children. Grieving after a family tragedy, he finds himself unable to share his conflicted feelings with his family. When he meets Jay, a seductive younger hustler, he finally finds the comfort he’s been craving – and begins to form an unusual infatuation with this much younger man. ‘Rialto’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!
Following his first Grammy nomination, a young, gay rock star is confronted with the painful price of his ambition. Watch ‘Fall to Fame’ now on Dekkoo!
This sharp, surreal thriller follows a shy film student named Davi, who spends most of his life looking through a lens. When he meets an alluring man who brings him out of his shell, the young voyeur’s sudden sexual awakening is threatened by a spate of gruesome murders connected to his troubled past. ‘My Dead Ones’ is available to stream on Dekkoo!
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Coming next week: A sexy new romantic comedy about falling out of love.
New This Week – 7/12/19
Two men encounter each other on a dangerous gay cruising park trail, and quickly find themselves caught up in a deadly game of cat and mouse. ‘Devil’s Path’ is streaming now on Dekkoo!
New from Dekkoo Films! When a college student goes to his first hook-up with a mysterious older man, he must determine if his anxieties point to a darker truth about his host for the night. ‘Fish Tank’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!
‘William, the New Judo Master’ portrays the universe of an eternal being that exists within a life cycle filled with disappointments and hopelessness. It’s the chronicle about the search for love and the fight against oblivion. Stream ‘William, The New Judo Master’ now on Dekkoo!
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Coming next week: A romantic comedy about the intersection of imagination and anxiety, and the courage to reach for love.
New This Week – 6/20/19
A masked madman stalks a gay porn set in 1979 Paris while its producer Anne, (French pop star Vanessa Paradis) tries to win back her editor and lover Lois by shooting her most ambitious film yet with her trusted, flaming sidekick Archibald. Shot in 35mm and featuring a killer retro score from M83, KNIFE+HEART is an ultra-stylish and blood-soaked ode to ’70s-era De Palma, Argento, and Friedkin. Watch ‘KNIFE+HEART’ now on Dekkoo!
Pour yourself a milkshake and experience the magic, music, and mirth of the all-time favorite camp-tastic classic: ‘Can’t Stop the Music!’ This (highly fictionalized) story depicting the creation of disco icons The Village People provides the framework for an outrageous musical extravaganza as only producer Allan Carr (Grease, Grease 2) could deliver. Stream ‘Can’t Stop the Music’ now on Dekkoo!
A chance meeting changing attitudes and lives. With a hint of Woody Allen in style and feel. A simple story of 2 strangers brought together by a dog. It delves into the ideas of solitude and loneliness and how a simple human act of kindness can instill hope. ‘The Definition of Lonely’ is available now on Dekkoo!
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Coming next week: The second season of ‘Woke’!
One Great Gay Shot – Rift (2017)
DEKKOO DISPATCH 067 – ‘BUGCRUSH’
Title – ‘Bugcrush‘
Director – Carter Smith
Starring – Josh Caras, Donald Cumming, Eleonore Hendricks, David Tennent
Release Date – 2006
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Well it’s a very dark and yet exciting day here in Dekkoo-world with the launch of Carter Smith’s award-winning short-ish film from 2006 ‘Bugcrush‘! This is absolutely, positively, my favorite short film ever – it’s disturbing, sexy, and gorgeously made. The photography, sound design, and choice of locations all come together to reach a level of perfection for my particular aesthetic interests. The short premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to win the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Film! Based on his success at Sundance Carter Smith went on to direct the Summer blockbuster horror film ‘The Ruins’ and later in 2014 the intimate ghost love-triangle film ‘Jamie Marks is Dead’.
‘Bugcrush‘ is set in a small town in the forest-heavy state of Maine. We meet Ben – a mousey nerd-ish loner type who happens to be the first person to talk to the dark, mysterious, and sexy new kid in school, Grant who immediately upon arrival gets an immediate detention for smoking. What does Ben do then? He gets detention on purpose so he can stare at Grant for a couple of hours. Ben’s friends try to talk him down from his obsession with Grant. They warn him that he’s just a straight guy that’ll beat him up if he knew Ben was into him. But none of this deters Ben who proceeds to work up the courage one school day to propose a hangout with Grant that leads to a very bumpy night to say the least…
The film is an adaptation of a short story by Scott Treleaven, an artist who founded the queer pagan punk ‘zine ‘This is the Salivation Army’ back in the 90’s. It was collected in the queer horror anthology ‘Queer Fear 2’ which is where Carter Smith first read it. “The moment I read the short story the very first time, it was like being hit by a bus,” Carter Smith said, waiting in a Dallas airport for a changeover flight to Salt Lake City. “I was like, ‘This is the film that I can make better than anybody else. This is the film I have to make.’ It just sort of clobbered me over the head.” Before making ‘Bugcrush‘ Carter Smith was a professional fashion photographer and commercial director. He was certainly able to bring over his keen instinct for stylization and photography to create a dark and foreboding landscape of teenage angst and sexuality.
The film was shot on 35mm and the color timing is some of the best I’ve ever seen. Greens have a corpse-like quality to them (except when it comes to Ben’s eyes which seem to be leaping out of the screen at you) and the roads at night are a gorgeous yellow-grey color. Another part of the production that leaps out at you is the sound design. The entire film is filled with eerie moans and distorted childish voices that promote the escalating tension in everyday normal situations like school hallways. The idea to un-synchronize the sound during the driving scene at night is totally brilliant! And so was the idea to have lots of whispering voices giving you additional info about characters. Turn up your volume!!
This movie has everything! Pretty guys, teenage crushes, weird drugs, sexy smoking, metal music, awkward hidden sexuality, creepy straight guys, and cockroaches! Watch ‘Bugcrush‘ with your ‘crush’ tonight!
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Watch it with: Someone you have a dark crush on…
Mix it with: Vodka.
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New This Week – 3/30/18
In a frat house where no one can be trusted, a new brother becomes the target of a masked killer. This over the top horror flick is chock full of hot guys in their skivvies! Stream ‘Alpha Delta Zatan’ on Dekkoo!
After drinking heavily and getting stuck in a YouTube hole of “It Gets Better” videos, a man reflects on his life and decides to tell his own story. Watch the Dekkoo Films short ‘It Gets Better?’ now on Dekkoo!
In her powerful documentary, which unfolds like a mystery novel, a young woman investigates the shadowy circumstances of her Uncles death. Watch ‘108’ now on Dekkoo!
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Coming next week: Sir Ian McKellen delivers a riveting, award-winning performance as gay Hollywood horror director James Whale.
New This Week – 1/12/18
Get seduced by the best short films from France in this exquisite new collection. Featuring six different short films, ‘French Kisses’ is packed to the brim with sexy young actors in romantic stories that are bound to make you swoon.
Four friends. Two couples. Twice as much to lie about in the morning. This charming 2001 romantic comedy from writer-star Dan Bucatinsky (‘The Comeback’, ‘Web Therapy’) follows two men with major personal differences who are struggling to learn that they’re crazy about each other. Co-starring Andrea Martin, Doris Roberts, Christina Ricci and Lisa Kudrow. ‘All Over the Guy’ is available now to stream on Dekkoo.com!
Four friends go on a camping trip that one won’t be coming back from alive. ‘Killer Friends’ is available now on Dekkoo.com!
New This Week – 11/2/17
‘Coffee House Chronicles: The Movie‘ is a comedy that explores the many ways LGBT people connect in the world of the Internet, social media, and of course coffee houses. The movie, based on the successful web series from writer-director Stewart Wade, covers two days and one night of love, hookups, heartbreaks, and hopes in gay Los Angeles.
Set one evening in present-day Moscow, 16 year-old Pyotr is baited by an ultra-nationalist group known for their violent abductions and attacks bolstered by Russia’s LGBT propaganda law, but Pyotr has a dangerous secret. Watch ‘Pyotr495’ on Dekkoo now!
While not a gay-centric comedian, Colin Quinn’s ‘Unconstitutional’ is a poignant (and hilarious) stand-up special that deserves a look due the current political environment. Quinn offers an analysis of the creation of the United States Constitution and its effect on the American psyche how the three branches of government are similar to people in a bar, why most U.S. presidents are unattractive, and how the Kardashians reflect on our country. Watch ‘Colin Quinn: Unconstitutional’ on Dekkoo!
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Coming next week: A contemporary pansexual drama that can best be described as the darker, equally sexy Belgian versions of John Cameron Mitchell’s ‘Shortbus’.
DEKKOO DISPATCH 042 – ‘PYOTR495′
Title – ‘Pyotr495‘
Director – Blake Mawson
Starring – Alex Ozerov, Alanna Bale, Juliana Semenova, Max Rositsan
Release Date – 2016
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How was everyone’s Halloween festivities last night? Did you have to take the day off work to recover? Over here at Dekkoo we’re still clinging onto the vapors of October with this week’s short film that really packs a wallop: ‘Pyotr495‘.
The beginning of ‘Pyotr’ starts out simple enough, a really really cute guy named Pyotr (played by Alex Ozerov) is cruising on Grindr one night and is invited over to an older muscle stud’s apartment (decorated in terrible/amazing Russian fashion), but since this is a horror film he of course runs into some trouble, namely a few anti-gay Russian Nationalists that believe that it’s their responsibility to rid Russia of ‘degenerates’ like the gays. A twist towards the end makes the short film extremely enjoyable 😉
There are lots of reasons why this short film has played all over the world: great direction, fantastic cinematography, a great horror twist, and a really cute lead to name more than a few, but it’s the films social commentary about LGBTQ bullying that really ties everything together. The films starts with a message, stylized like the beginning of a Disney fairy tale: “Russia, 2014 – The country’s military has been ordered to invade the Ukrainian territory of Crimea, while the newly-instated LGBT Propaganda Law makes it illegal to present gay life in Russia as normal. President Vladamir Putin’s approval rating is at a six-year high.”
This film paints a reality for many LGBTQ people living in Russia. They don’t feel safe in the same spaces that most of us in the U.S. feel safe in. The wrong hookup can lead to devastating consequences. Charlie David from Border2Border (who helped bring Pyotr to a wider audience online) interviewed the director Blake Mawson and asked a question about why the film is so important in this day and age:
With what we’ve seen is happening in Chechnya with the anti-gay purge and concentration camps for gay men, these human rights abuses by Chechen authorities where journalists covering the story are receiving death threats and being forced to flee the country – this is obviously a very clear sign that things are not getting any better and are in fact worsening in many parts of the globe. While I’m not claiming that our short film is solving any of world problems, I do think it is important that we use our voice as artists and as people in any way possible to draw attention to these injustices and continue to raise awareness.
I think if I can use genre-type film to put an audience in the shoes of the people who are experiencing this type of terror and hatred, make them uncomfortable and have them realize that this is actually not so make-believe in the end, that this type of horror is real – then we can begin to open people’s eyes and reach an audience in unexpected ways.
Check out ‘Pyotr495‘ tonight and do your part in kicking the asses of Russian bigots!!
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Watch it with: Your horror buddies.
Mix it with: Russian Vodka of course!
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Discover great gay stories. 