News

Jesse Klein’s “Demons” to Play at FilmOut San Diego LGBT Film Festival

Published

7 years ago

May 24, 2017

A young man sits in group therapy relating how he’s just murdered a man by slitting his throat. The rest of his group can totally relate. One likes to kill using a short sword; another has a real thing for poison. They discuss it with a fervent glee until the therapist in charge of the group calls them to order and reminds them that the group isn’t here to discuss their murderous instincts. No, there purpose is much more serious. These men are gay and that’s just not okay. The therapist snorts a short line of cocaine and they get down to business.

This is the opening for Jesse Klein’s highly engaging and entertaining short, “Demons”, which will be making its West Coast debut at the San Diego FilmOut LGBT film festival in June. The film drives home the point that there are worse things in the world than being gay, and came from Klein’s own personal dreams and experiences.

“I was looking at all of these anti-gay protesters,” Klein says, “and all I could think was that they could be using that energy for something so much more important. I mean, if you’re going to base your protests on the Bible, why not pick one of the Ten Commandments? Let’s protest murder!”

And so we find Matt, our protagonist, walking through a world that is hyper-violent. People are beating each other in the streets, stealing from each other, etc. He arrives at the home of his new boyfriend, a local butcher. He’s greeted at the door and they kiss, only to hear the woman next door scoff at them as she’s handing her young beer swilling daughter an automatic rifle.

It isn’t only scoffing neighbors Matt will have to worry about on date night, however. His serial killing parents are getting older and just not able to finish a job like they used to be. So, when they call him in the middle of dinner, he has to leave Adam to help them clean up a mess they’ve made in a local ultra-conservative bar full of war-glorifying, gay hating douchebags. What follows is a throat slashing extravaganza under multi-hued club lights that would make Sweeney Todd proud.

I asked Klein if he’d had any negative responses from audiences with a scene that could easily be seen as mirroring the tragic shooting at Pulse in Florida last year, and he said that remarkably there had been none of that.

“I think because I flipped it, because it’s these uber-Republicans with signs in the club that read “WAR!!” and “Kill the Gays!!” that they see what I’m doing with it and they respect it. Honestly, I’ve had more people ask me why I didn’t have more blood in that scene!”

When his parents come in to help him clean up the bodies, he makes his excuses to get back to his date, switching pronouns from “he” to “she”, still hiding the fact that he’s gay. As he leaves the club, his obviously proud parents watch him go with beaming smiles and turning to each other the father remarks that he loves his gay son.

“I think that’s what happens with a lot of people nowadays,” the writer/director laughs. “I made a documentary about how I’d rather jump out of a plane and skydive than tell my parents I’m gay, and the thing this most of the time, they already know and they’re just waiting for you to tell them.”

Matt heads back to Adam and as they finish up their date night with a little pillow talk, he apologizes for having to leave earlier. It’s at this point that my favorite revelation of the film comes through and it’s so good I refuse to tell you about it. This is one little twist you have to see for yourself!

Klein presents a world that is both absurd and real in “Demons”. The satire is worthy of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” and equally as satisfying in its measured lesson on the absurdities of anti-gay sentiments.

Javan Nelson turns in s a charming performance as Matt. He fully inhabits the transition from a young man who just might be falling in love to feral serial killer, and manages to do it with a Puckish grin that will melt your heart.

FilmOut San Diego will present “Demons” alongside four other horror shorts June 10, 2017 beginning at 10 pm. For ticket information, visit the festival website!

DEMONS Trailer from Jesse Klein on Vimeo.

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News

Jake Gyllenhaal’s Thriller ‘Presumed Innocent’ Series Gets Early Release Date

Published

2 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Jake Gyllenhaal’s limited series Presumed Innocent is dropping on AppleTV+ on June 12 instead of June 14 as originally planned. The star, whose Road House reboot has brought mixed reviews on Amazon Prime, is embracing the small screen for the first time since his appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street in 1994.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s in ‘Presumed Innocent’

Presumed Innocent is being produced by David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, and Warner Bros. It is an adaptation of Scott Turow’s 1990 film in which Harrison Ford plays a lawyer doing double duty as an investigator looking for the murderer of his colleague.

These types of sexy thrillers were popular in the ’90s and usually contained twist endings. Here’s the trailer for the original:

According to Deadline, Presumed Innocent doesn’t stray far from the source material: “…the Presumed Innocent series will explore obsession, sex, politics and the power and limits of love as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”

Up next for Gyllenhaal is the Guy Ritchie action movie titled In the Grey scheduled for release in January 2025.

Presumed Innocent is an eight-episode limited series set to stream on AppleTV+ starting June 12.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

21 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

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News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

22 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.