Based on the cover of the Dead Boyz Don’t Scream DVD, I didn’t expect anything less than a novelty slasher loaded with naked guys. That expectation was solidified when the producer of the film told me that it definitely fits the Boys, Bears & Scares motto of “goes for the gonads” (and shows the gonads).
Dead Boyz Don’t Scream is a hoot! If David DeCoteau’s homoerotic but not gay films were X-rated, they would be this movie. It’s all about the boyeurism with your typical throwaway slasher plot tying all the nudity together. I think anyone who sees it as “unintentionally” funny doesn’t get the intentions of the filmmakers. When a dude running around in his underwear in the woods gets them cut off by a swing of the killer’s axe, I’m pretty sure the filmmakers are in on the joke.
Dead Boyz Don’t Scream features long segments of absolutely gorgeous male models posing completely naked. It’s male objectification to the max, and it’s awesome. And just for fun, a handful of these male models do something bad to someone and are told never to speak of it again. They are sent off to a ranch in the middle of the woods for the rest of their photo shoot. Guess what happens. That’s right. They all get naked and take more pix, this time in only cowboy hats.
Of course, they start getting killed off as well. Where we usually watch kids drinking, pranking each other, telling urban legends by the fire, and fucking, we just get guys walking around naked and posing. Character development is overrated anyway! The point of any good slasher is just to show the goods…and then hack up the goods.
Beyond its sexually charged footage of man peen and ball sacks, Dead Boyz Don’t Scream has some surprisingly edgy elements to it. There’s a particularly long and realistic gang bang (3 guys and 1 girl) that takes place with a very large crucifix center stage over the bed. There’s an extended close-up of a guy peeing. There are two very creepy looking models as brothers…who move in for a very sensual and incestuous kiss in a hot tub. Good thing there’s a killer around to put a stop to any immoral behavior!
While the movie is farcical (a dude even dies from an axe to the thigh!), all the slasher clichés are present: a masked killer; a dude hurting his ankle during a chase scene; killer POV; deaths by chainsaw, knife, pitchfork, axe, electrocution, and bush trimmer. Okay, these guys are so waxed there’s no bush to trim, but there is a major castration! Indeed, there are old school bloody special effects and gory body reveals at the end. There’s even a classic Friday the 13th sequence in which a guy spots “someone” going into a barn. It’s the most effective horror moment in the movie.
The fantastically melodramatic twist has the killer barking out one of the best excuses for all the murders ever. This one is definitely made for the LGBTQ camp crowd. Gather a bunch of your gay friends, get high on cherry cola, and get gawking and laughing.
