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Original, realistic and entertaining thriller has good and b

Bob Lind | Phoenix, AZ United States | 12/09/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Manny is a young artist, still reeling from a relationship that didn't work out, deciding to concentrate on his paintings and limit his social life to his small circle of other gay friends, plus nightly visits to a popular "Open Cam" (2005) website. One problem: the guys he hooks up with online later turn up dead, which puts Manny at the center of the investigation conducted by Hamilton, assigned by the police to work on gay cases. As the number of the serial killer's victims climb, the detective moves in as "live bait" into Manny's apartment with him, hoping to draw the attention of the killer as well as protect Manny. They play their role so well that they actually become lovers for a time, allowing Hamilton to gauge the reaction of Manny's exes and friends, one of whom may be the killer.

The film features an attractive (although inexperienced, and it shows) cast playing non-stereotypical and believeable gay characters, within an original story that gets points for being mostly realistic. Amir Darvish is especially effective as the no-nonsense, sarcastic gay detective, Hamilton. This unrated low-budget indie film would have drawn a NC-17 for nudity and explicit sexual content, but the sexual situations are all reasonable in the context of the story, rather than being gratuitous. Direction definitely could have been better at times, and the background music occasionally drowns out the dialogue. DVD extras include deleted and edited scenes and the trailer. I give it 3 stars out of 5."

Not worth the watch

Timothy G. Veihl | Quincy, IL | 11/22/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This movie was not even worth renting let alone buying. The acting was terrible, I 've seen high school productions that put more emotion into their characters then these actors do. Then there's the constant use of background music which is constantly drowning out the dialogue. I had to continually adjust the volume on the tv to hear what was being said.
The actors were nice enough to look at but no full frontal was shown, there was the appropriately placed towel or pillow. If nothing was there to use, any shot of genitalia was blacked out, kind of like watching a court hearing on tv when the witness doesn't want to be identified. This was diappointing as the book states "scenes that would make Queer As Folk fans blush." QAF definitely showed more than this movie does and the two sex scenes were not all that more inticing.
I was really expecting more from this movie overall, given what I had read about it. The plot just seemed to drag at some points and rush through at others. This movie would definitely be a "dust collector" on my shelf."

Fun gay thriller.

Constant Reader | Tucson, AZ | 05/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I really don't understand the negative reviews of this movie. While it's hardly perfect, it's a fun, interesting, gay thriller. The acting ranges from decent to excellent and even the weakest is in no way as bad as others suggest. There are no real plot surprises, but the writing is solid, and I've seen many much worse mainstream thrillers. Characters do occasionally defy logic-- but that's not unusual in any movie. It's not a gay classic like Latter Days or Parting Glances, but it's definitely worth your time. Plus the actors are all good eye candy."

More Daring than Entertaining

Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 04/24/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This was an interesting rental. The film covers a crime spree in the gay community of Washington DC. Andreau Thomas in his first film plays Manny. Manny is an artist who has many friends. His fascination with an open cam website where men feel free to drop their drawers leads to his witnessing a brutal crime on camera. The gore with severed privates was painful to watch, even when removed by putting it on a small TV screen within the film. Amir Darvish plays the cop Hamilton who has been assigned to the case. Like all the rest of the men in the film, he develops an attachment to the handsome Manny. Hamilton is divorcing his wife and coming to terms with his preferences. Ben Green plays Maurice as Manny's best friend who from time to time is more than a friend. J. Matthew Miller plays the computer geek Conrad that installs software that tracks the email connections on the open cam site and eventually leads to the final climactic scene. While I couldn't catch his name, the guy who plays the wimpy upstairs neighbor does a good job. Director Robert Gaston will play Bartender Bob in his next film, "Two Minutes Later." This movie has low production qualities, somewhat interesting dialogue, and a lot of actors who do not appear to have much theatrical training. It's a "B" movie where its daring is more significant than the expertise with which it handles the material."