A short horror film triple feature from two of my favorite gay horror directors

I love me some short horror films these days since I’ve been hitting up the horror film festivals. So I was psyched to have the opportunity to see one by Mark Bessenger and two by J.T. Seaton.

“Candy” by Mark Bessenger

Mark Bessenger is the director of Bite Marks, the sexy vampire horror comedy with gay characters and Evil Ed from Fright Night. It’s a favorite of mine, so I wait very impatiently for Mark to make another horror flick. To keep me occupied in the meantime, he threw me a piece of “Candy.”

“Candy,” which runs only about 8 minutes long, is not a “boo! scared ya!” type of short. It’s one of those dastardly twist ending films (think Tales from the Crypt, Tales from the Darkside, etc.). In fact, the majority of the film is sensual and sexy. It opens with a phone call. A guy has dialed a sex line—and is connected to a young, bearded hottie lying in bed in a dark, shadowy house eating pieces of candy. But the two guys aren’t really after the same thing it seems, so they say their goodbyes.

This is where Mark Bessenger puts into action his amazing ability to shoot a scene that’s so close to crossing the line from sensual to softcore porn—while showing us nothing that we’re left aching to see! There are two such hot as hell scenes in Bite Marks, but here, it becomes a virtual “solo” video as the bearded hottie takes care of himself. Wow.

As you watch this climactic moment, there’s no telling where the horror twist is going to come in. And I’m not telling….

But what I will tell you is that the bearded solo artist happens to be Mike Justice, director of The Trouble with Barry. And the guy on the other end of the line is Peter Stickles of The Lair…and The Trouble with Barry. Small gay world.

“Divination” by J.T. Seaton

J.T. Seaton’s 11-minute chiller “Divination” stars Lynn Lowry, who has been appearing in horror films since Romero’s The Crazies in 1973! One of her more recent films is a comedy called My Stepbrother is a Vampire!?! by homoerotic horror director David DeCoteau. Have I mentioned it’s a small gay world?

Here Lynn plays a phony psychic who is visited by an unexpected client. A young woman comes to her door, begging her for help reaching a departed loved one. As thunder and lighting crash and flash outside her big creepy house, Lynn learns what happens when you pretend to make contact with the deceased who so desperately want to communicate for real. The film enters spooky, atmospheric ghost territory…with some jump scares along the way.

“Nightshadows” by J.T. Seaton

I bookend this blog with another tale about gay guys hooking up. J.T. Seaton totally delivers a sixteen-minute scarefest with “Nightshadows.”

This 15-minute short delivers more ball-tingling, asshole clenching jump scares than most full-length horror films. Amazing. Sort of a warning about hooking up with strangers, this one has it all—tension, suspense, scares galore, sexy guys…and what appear to be sexy zombies. And the lead Jerry G. Angelo is so fricking studly. He also happened to strip down in gay director Devin Hamilton’s awesome campy horror indie film Delta Delta Die! Small gay world indeed.