Yay! It’s a gay horror double feature from two directors I cover as quickly as they release new material, and two more to add to the homo horror movies page. So let’s get right into them.
BLEEP: A SERIAL KILLER’S DOG
Pete Jacelone is known for making morbid homoerotic horror flicks, and this short film sticks to the trend somewhat. However, it also explores a familiar horror theme through a queer lens: loneliness.
Our narrating killer reveals the details of just one of the many murders he’s committed.
What unravels is an often uncomfortable and icky presentation of his deep love affair with a slowly rotting corpse. It’s also tragically sad if you can look past the more perverse details.
The dog angle, which is ultimately the most unique aspect of the story, is perhaps relegated to the background too much considering it gives the film its name and adds an incredibly complex layer to the plot.
The killer has a beloved dog to keep him company (as lonely people often do). Bleep is there every step of the way. Bleep gets a hint of attention from the young man the killer brings home. Bleep barks with anxiety when the killer commits his crime. And Bleep snuggles in bed right alongside the killer and the corpse.
And eventually, for a fleeting instant, we see how Bleep’s interest in the corpse is in danger of changing dramatically. Jacelone, who is not one to pull any punches, totally does here. I was rather surprised Bleep’s hunger for the corpse wasn’t used as the reason the killer has to keep killing—imagine if just when he’s beginning to nest with his corpse boyfriend, it starts turning into a tasty treat for Bleep, so the killer is forced to dispose of the body and start the process all over, hence becoming a serial killer so his dog doesn’t become a mannibal (you know…a man eating dog). Now that’s a plot that could have been extended into a full-length film, and perhaps Pete Jacelone will expand on this one later on down the line.
To learn more about Bleep: A Serial Killer’s Dog and Pete Jacelone’s other movies, take a look at his site.
CHILDREN OF SIN (2022)
This one comes from Chris Moore, a prolific indie director and one of my social media horror buddies. You could consider it a slasher, but it’s important to note that it’s a good while before we get to the bulk of the slashing. The beginning and end feel like two different movies.
For starters, it’s a heavy-handed film about how religious extremist parents can negatively affect their children. A mother of two teens has entered a relationship ship with a God-loving nut…just the kind of man you don’t want co-parenting a sexually active daughter and a gay son.
To make them pay for their sins, he has the siblings sent to a religious retreat where the woman calling the shots is a total psycho!
I’ll say right up front that Chris doesn’t go for a campy or exploitative approach to the subject matter this time around, and for me personally, this kind of material is not my thing. It’s important to recognize that awful things go on at these religious camps, but I’m not compelled to wallow in the misery of their existence when I’m indulging in horror. In particular, as much as I always appreciate gay themes in horror, I am not particularly drawn to plots with gays being victimized by religious nuts. I prefer positive gay horror…the very reason the horny, happy gay guys in my Comfort Cove fiction series fight ghosts, demons, and monsters in between all their orgies and gang bangs.
Naturally, the darker subject matter presented here may appeal to some gay fans, but it could also be traumatizing for those who are sensitive to such material. However, here is where the big surprise comes in.
In the last 20 minutes, Children of Sin morphs into a fast-paced slasher, and it’s a fricking blast, with the loony lady brutally unleashing her insanity on all the kids she’s trying to “help”.
I personally ate up the final act because the film puts a pause on the gloom and doom reality of religious camps. It’s more in keeping with Chris Moore’s slasher Triggered, which still carries some social significance but is more gay positive and fun.
