Review: Gay as the Sun – A Documentary

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020
Images from the Internet

 

Gay as the Sun – A Documentary
Directed by Richard Griffin
Scorpio Film Releasing / Nova Film Productions
32 minutes, 2020
www.scorpiofilmreleasing.com

The tagline for this film may sound familiar: “From the beginning of time to the end of the Universe… Is Billy.” This should not be confused with the infamous opening of Kurt Vonnegut’s brilliant novel, Slaughterhouse Five: “Billy Pilgrim has become unstuck in time.” But this is a comedy spoof, so why not?

The subtitle of the film is a bit of comedy, but this is also a sci-fi release in the form of a documentary, but it goes so much deeper than that. The tone it takes is in the form of those pseudo-documentaries they used to do about nudist colonies in the late 1950s and early ‘60s that was used as a framework that was acceptable (somewhat) to what had become of the Hays Office. Essentially, the documentary format was a legal way to show nude bodies without it being considered “smut.” Auteurs like Doris Wishman (d. 2002) and Hershell Gordon Lewis (in his pre-gore mode; d. 2016) were pioneers in this field, with most of their films coming out of southern Florida. This one is from Rhode Island.

We are presented with the first chapter through the introduction of Adam (Rick Irizarry) and Steve (Nolan Burke) in the Garden of Eden – that’s right – narrated with gentility over a very sanitized melody that actually sounds like it came from one of those early films. Hmm, I wonder who did their ink? Anyway, if you remember the Eden story, it was not clothing optional, it was sans mode. Oh, if you haven’t guessed by the title, this is going to be a wiener fest like nobody’s biz.

 

Sarah Reed

But three minutes in, the film takes a turn one might not expect, and I won’t give it away. In a brilliant move (with a tone of social commentary) we meet Eve (Sarah Reed), equally bare, before both are tempted by a drag queen snake (Ninny Nothin, aka Johnny Sederquist) to take that forbidden bite of the apple.

 Okay, I have to stop here for a sec. It’s 5 minutes into the film, and I have been laughing nearly non-stop, between the narration and the action on the screen. This is so well written and thought out, that I’m looking forward to hitting the play button again. This is irreverent as all get out, so if you’re bothered by Adam and Steve, you are going to love the conclusion of this chapter, which is essentially a history of body shaming (Wait, the Bible? Genesis? Chapter 1? Shaming? Yeah, that sounds about right).

 It’s in chapter 2, which is now narrated by the less somber sounding Terry Shea, where we meet our pal Billy (Graham Stokes). Poor Billy suffers from said self-body loathing, so as therapy, he goes to a nudist colony called, yep, “Gay as the Sun.” We get to follow a mostly silent Billy (perhaps a nod to Lewis’ 1961 infamous release, The Adventures of Lucky Pierre?), as the narrator “joins along.” Billy explores the camp and meets strange characters like a shirt bandit (Ronald Martin) who steals, well, it ain’t lupins, and Gay Dracula (a fun turn by Robert Kersey).

 

Graham Stokes

The film stops at times for interviews with some of the characters, such as the bandit and Billy’s nutball parents, often with a subtle sarcastic tone that, again, shows some really good writing by director Griffin and Robyn Guilford. One of my fave moments is when we meet a “Karen” named Karen (Erin Haas) – VP of the Eric Trump Fan Club – who angrily takes the whole film to task in a Monty Python’s Colonel splash. I was beside myself.

With the multitude of male nudity (and some female as well), and the profane tone, there may be some hesitation of some viewers, but if you’re an open spirit and love a really smartly written comedy with balls to the wall laughs, I recommend this, as I chortled all through it. Some of that came from the references, but even beyond if that’s not your thing, it’s a good hoot.

 

Gay Dracula

And how does this gay romp fit into the motif of this blog? It has a science fiction backbone to it that was also reminiscent of the old ‘50s sci-fi glut of low budget films. That’s good enough for me.

Will Billy find balance with his own skin? Perhaps find love? There is an abundance of choices at the camp, with lots of men with bodies exposed doing things that the old Wishman/Lewis employed to express nudity in action, such as montages of washing (stand-up showers, of course), sun bathing (front and back), volleyball, and hula-hoops. Maybe someday there will be a version that comes out in 3D called Gay as the Sun 3D – A DUCK!-umentary. I said what I said.

See the trailer and/or rent the film HERE

Review: Before the Night is Over

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020

Images from the Internet

Before the Night is Over

Directed by Richard Griffin

Scorpio Film Releasing / The Reasonable Moving Picture Company

74 minutes, 2020

www.facebook.com/NightIsOver/

When I talk to fellow genre reviewers, one name consistently comes up on the top of the directors’ list, and that’s Richard Griffin. His large body of work https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1075618/?ref_=tt_ov_dr covers a large swath of styles and genre categories, which seem to come in waves. There was a horror phase followed by one of broad sexual/sensual comedies. After a couple of years, he has headed back into making a thriller, and I find it hard to control myself getting ready to watch it.

Samatha Acampora, Victoria Paradis, Bruce Church

If I were to break this film down into its most primal descriptors, they would have to be “languid” and “gothic.” Remember when Southern-focused releases like Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) and, well, Frogs (1972) were more common, with big mansions, accents that make y’all wanna hush yo mouth, sugah, and evil doings were hidden by “the scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh / Then the sudden smell of burning flesh” (quote from Abel Meeropol’s 1939 song, “Strange Fruit”).

Like a Bob Fosse dance number, every shot and move made by the cast seems nearly choreographed, with hands and faces in the forefront. This is quite effective for the “languid” part. It also makes for fascinating watching of the actors as they move around the screen, or even if they are sitting still, there is still the precise motion that is almost hypnotic, which works for the “gothic” intonation.

Atmospheric

As for the basic set-up of the story, listen here chile: when we are introduced to petite Samantha Pearl (Samantha Acampora, who is also known as a spirited Rocky Horror Picture Show reenactor), her parents have recently passed on, and she’s been taken in by her aunt, Blanche DeWolfe (Lee Rush), who owns this here bordello that is filled with men, and also caters to men. Similarly in charge is the “prickly” Ms. Olivia (Victoria Paradis, reminding me of the Miss Hardbroom character from the British “The Worst Witch” programme). These are the only three women in the film. Also helping to run the bordello is the intense and towering Ambrose (Bruce Church, who just keeps getting better every time I see him).

Samantha also is having visions that are silent, fuzzy and in slow-mo (again, “languid”), where she can see violent events that have occurred in the house recently. Oh, and did I mention that there is also someone in a cloak and cowl running around hitting customers on the noggin’ with various instruments until they’re on the rainbow bridge with Jeebus? And what’s in her mother’s diary that the aunt is keeping from her, and what’s with the mysterious locked room she’s not allowed to enter? It’s a mystery that’s bound to get ramped up and involve Samantha (again, “gothic”). Well that’s why y’all are here, ain’ it?

Much like Cinderella, Samantha’s role in the “house” is to be the maid. Of course, this gives her access to everything and everyone there, so like the nanny in The Innocents (1961), as we follow her around, we get to learn as she does just what is going on up in here.

Like Griffin’s earlier film, Long Night in a Dead City (2017), the atmosphere and structures around the story are part of it, even the incredibly accurate, stylized and yet ugly wallpaper. There is a persistent mood that runs throughout, giving the actions of the characters more gravitas. There also deserves a nod to John Mosetich’s excellent cinematography and Margaret Wolf production design for the way this is all displayed to us.

This film is a fine summation of a few of Griffin’s earlier works, combining the supernatural (though technically he is not a “horror” director), homages to some of the Masters (see below), and the abundance of the male form in various shapes and sizes. There is a lot of nudity in here in a coin flip of the usual all-women-and-no-men. Penii abound, and yet the story warrants it. If you’re a Neanderthal who is indoctrinated in not being used to this, get the fuck over it. This film is too beautiful to miss.

There is a bit of violence here, but relatively mild with little blood; however, the tension is definitely there as murders are committed and a mysterious presence overhangs the bordello that Samantha tries to get to the source.

It’s easy to see the influences and reflections of earlier classics that I could list, but I don't want to give too much of the story away.

My only complaint is that it’s a relatively short feature. There is much more I would have liked to be flushed out a bit, though I don’t feel cheated at all. Honestly, this is true of most Griffin films; I just want them to keep going. That says a lot about this release, as well.

Review: Code Name: Dynastud

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2018
Images from the Internet

Code Name: Dynastud
Directed and edited by Richard Griffin
Scorpio Film Releasing / Reasonable Moving Picture Company Productions
95 minutes, 2018
www.facebook.com/dynastud/

First, as a disclaimer, I feel compelled to state that I watch this film as a straight man but who is an ally. Working across the street from the Stonewall in my youth opened my eyes to a lot of unintentional internal prejudices I didn’t realize I had, and have worked on since. Anyway, here we go.

If I may be so presumptuous, there seems to be three great arches in director Richard Griffin’s filmmaking career. The first was the early learning curve where he got his feet wet, with releases such as Raving Maniacs and Seepage! (aka Creature From the Hillbilly Lagoon; both 2005). The second arch began around the time of Beyond the Dunwich Horror and Nun of That (both 2008), where Griffin developed into a solid and prolific director that specialized mostly in making films that reflected / honored a bunch of different styles (giallo, ‘80s Eurotrash, Christian films, etc.), most of which were comedies, but mixed in were some amazing serious ones as well (such as Exhumed in 2011 and Normal in 2013). During this period he came to the attention and gained the respect of numerous film critics and bloggers such as myself. It was here that he developed a loose group of regular actors that helped support his output.

Recently, Richard began his third (so far) arch starting with Strapped for Danger (2017), which is catering to gay, raunchy comedies. Again, this is supported by some new regulars, such as Anthony Gaudette and Michael Varrati (also an amazing screenwriter). Honestly, even before watching this sci-fi tinged “gay romp” (as Mel Brooks may have put it), I have been looking forward to giving it a viewing. Pressing start now…

Since Ronald Reagan first let in the Religious Right to the political arena, there has been an increasing amount of “Bible over Constitution” on the GOP side. And in a post-Trump presidency world of 2024 when this film takes place, that religious power madness has reached its pinnacle, outlawing homosexuality. At the present time, this hardly seems like a far-fetched idea when considering our closeted Vice President and at least one Senator Graham Cracker (both allegedly).



Derek Lauendeau, Anthony Gaudette, Mark Garner

While our titular alien-induced super-powered character of Dynastud (Gaudette) is introduced through a near perfect James Bond-ish opening and credits that had me in stitches, the story proper seems to revolve more around the pure of heart and noble Bart (Derek Laurendeau), who finds himself in a pickle when forced to marry Patty (Candace Sampson, the only female main character who ironically steals some scenes away from the dudes) by her father, the murderous and gay-hating Senator Hightower (played with glee by Bruce Church, who looks like he’s having a blast in the role).

That being said, there are, again, three arcs to this story: in no particular order there is the Bart and Patty conundrum, a buddy travel theme (think Trains, Planes and Automobiles), and an overlapping grand quest (such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy). At this point, I am not including the underlying political messaging throughout, which I will get to later.



Candace Sampson

Also worth mentioning are two secondary characters who are sort of the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of the story, Vargas (Aaron Andrade) and Sam (Dan Mauro), two police officers resurrected from Griffin’s earlier Seven Dorms of Death, who are ordered to find our intrepid heroes Bart and Dynastud. What they find instead are cameos by Griffin regulars and some revelations that of course I will not divulge. I may have said too much already…

There are a lot of subtle nuances throughout the film, such as quotes from the notoriously camp Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and The Blues Brothers (1978) – and I’m supposing there are also some I missed.

Of course, there is full frontal male shots (though less than I expected; I seem to remember more in Griffin’s last film, Strapped For Danger) and a lot of sex, focused natch on M-M. One scene recognizes the female side of the equation, though more in a stereotypical but hopefully non-offensive way (plaid shirts, ultra-Liberal, etc.). The same stereotyping could be said about Canada and especially Canadians in later scenes, that is non-offensive and, honestly, really funny, eh?



Bruce Church

Griffin being Griffin, he also hysterically has the whole film overdubbed like those kung fu flicks in ways that are both obvious – such as Vargas’ British lilt and two that I particularly liked, “drag queen” Lee Van Queef (Jordan Pacheco) and a Canadian hostess (Samantha Acampora); others less noticeable.

At a time like the present where NAFTA is scrapped in favor of a tariff war by the government, it seems appropriate to have a whole Canadian/maple syrup sub-plot – okay, perhaps it doesn’t make sense, but it works in the story – as the last act of the film is bat-shit WTF sci-fi as we are introduced to the kung fu master Bruce Li (Mark Andrew Garner) to kinda tie everything together and perhaps lead to a film sequel.

While not as over-the-top as Seven Dorms of Death (a fave of mine), this is a film that is silly, but far from stoopid [sic]. The cannon fire over the bow is both subtle and not as much so (such as Li’s fight with the Mecha-Trump robot that looks like it came out of a 1940s serial like The Monster and the Ape).

More than a hypocritical “War on Christmas” (which doesn’t exist except as a distraction, of course), there truly is a War on LGBTQ(etc.) Rights, and this film pushes that button. I’m a firm believer that one can get more notice using humor than fear, and Griffin raises a rally cry that there truly is danger afoot with an ultra-“religious” (most would say Christian, but I find it to be true across all the ultra-orthodox of beliefs) base. Griffin switches from “a nod’s as good as a wink to a blind bat” subtle to a sledgehammer to bring his points around, and they all work into the story, mostly without being preachy (pun intended).

Meanwhile, be sure to watch beyond the credits, and pay attention to the Justin Trudeau life-sized cut-out in the background. Gay or straight, as an audience member, there is a lot to see, a lot to think about, and most importantly, plenty of good laughs.