Gay films Eulogy for a Vampire and In the Blood fall into two completely different horror subgenres. But they both have blood and boys and that’s all that matters! Okay. It also matters if they’re good….
EULOGY FOR A VAMPIRE (2009)
Monks, erotic sex, vampires, satanic rituals, ghosts. Sounds good to me! Eulogy for a Vampire is possibly one of the most ambitious gay horror films I’ve ever seen. It’s not a “boo!” scare movie. It’s a seriously dark and sinister film about the goings-on in a monastery: romantic relationships between the men, jealousy and blackmail, power trips that play out in the form of whippings for sinful acts. Yeah. This is a pretty twisted and complex film.
It opens 25 years prior at the monastery with gay relationships between the monks, a blood ritual, and murder.
Flash ahead to the current day and things start to get really weird once again—just after a young drifter is found unconscious and brought into the monastery to be cared for. Is there a secret vampire cult operating within the walls of the monastery? Is the ghost of a vampire haunting the monks? Or does the young drifter have some sort of magical control over them? Or maybe it’s all of the above. And what’s behind the door with the creepy green glow coming out from the bottom?
Eulogy for a Vampire is an incredibly effective throwback to the supernatural films of the early 1970s; the look, tone, atmosphere, and style feel like they come right from that decade. The movie is creepy and mysterious to the point of almost being hard to follow, a characteristic of many of the trippy horror films of that time period (Think Let’s Scare Jessica to Death). It gets more disturbing as it progresses, from the horror imagery to the sexual scenarios. The most graphic and gory horror moments come in right near the end and they’re pretty nasty. Eulogy for a Vampire truly captures the intensity of classic slow burners and should really satisfy lovers of that era of horror.
IN THE BLOOD (2006)
In the Blood is a fun little paranormal thriller. While it’s about the murders of girls at the hands of a masked killer on a college campus, it avoids the slasher label simply because it doesn’t show them. In fact, only clips at the beginning and end of the movie show us the killer was actually masked.
The film focuses on a very small cast, which really gives it its charm because they’re all very likeable. Our main man is questioning his sexuality (his tramp stamp should tell him all he needs to know) and kind of has the hots for his adorable best friend…and clearly any other guys he sees in the shower.
Meanwhile, his sister is stressed out because she got a bad Tarot reading. And he’s freaking out because he keeps having dreams of her covered in blood! They’re both pretty good at scoring psychic readings because they soon learn she’s considered a prime target for the campus killer!
Coming to terms with the fact that he’s gay and has some sort of psychic powers, our main man learns that having pure and authentic sex will enhance his premonitions so he will know how to stop his sister from being murdered. Which means no more taking Viagra in order to get it up to screw his girlfriend. He turns to a hustler to experience real sexual happiness…and to learn the identity of the killer.
In the Blood isn’t campy and stays away from any humor. It’s more a paranormal mystery than hardcore horror (again, because the masked killer angle is not exploited at all) and is modestly erotic instead of relying on explicit sex. There are fun moments, like our main man glancing at a hockey mask then telling the hustler his name is Jason. The twist at the end is a totally satisfying payoff and the final kill is surprisingly bloody! It’s like they saved the money shot for the very last scene. I’d say In the Blood is a goody for date night.
