The Gay Bed and Breakfast of Terror

MoDean Films

Web: http://www.gaybedandbreakfastofterror.com/

The Gay Bed and Breakfast of Terror opens with an original music number “Beware of the Straights” and you start to realize this is going to be a very original viewing experience. This is a film where all the conventions of the “traditional” horror genre are turned on their head. Instead of the old country hotel, languishing in a state of decay and disrepair where a group of young randy heterosexual teens are killed by a sexually ambiguous murderer (sometimes gay, other times “gender variant” such as in Psycho), we as treated to the reverse. On the eve of the Blue party, one of the most significant gay events on the calendar, five couples having not made bookings on time, have had to find whatever accommodation they can and they all find themselves at the Sahara Salvation Inn, supposedly a small slice of paradise in the desert. When they arrive they find a decaying and rotting old building with very strange occupants.

The five couples are as diverse as can be. There is Dom and Alex, the 'performers' (Vinny Markus and Michael Soldier) and Deborah and Gabby, the sophisticated, entrepreneurial lipstick dykes (Shannon Lee and Denise Heller). There's Mike and Eric, the upper income sweater wearing power couple (Derek Long and Robert Borzych) and their annoying rather caricatured fag-hag friend, Lizette (Lisa Block-Wieser). Also checking in are Starr and Brenda, the struggling and perhaps rather self deluded folk singer and her tough-talking tomboy (Hilary Schwartz and Mile Rivenbark) and lastly Rodney and Todd, the sugar daddy and his pretty boy or personal trainer, depending on how you look at it. (Jim Polivka and James Tolins).

As they settle in they are welcomed by Helen (Mari Marks), a rather God fearing woman, who seems very out of place running a gay B & B and Luella (Georgia Jean), her daughter who seems to have an interest in the ladies her mother doesn’t appreciate. As they are served mincemeat muffins one of the guests bites into an earring, they begin to think something is not quite right.

This is a very creative and innovate work of cinema which seems to cross genres between comedy and horror, gore and black humor. The way in which the traditional stereotypes of horror cinema are reversed is both amusing and yet convincing at the same time. Sure, this may be high camp but there is a seriousness in the film that all works exceptionally well.

The couples all have their own hang-ups, problems and difficulties and this honest portrayal of a world in which, for once, the gay world is the majority one is a nice change from those sweaty heterosexual teen horror flicks. At the same time the portrayal of the mad fundamentalist Christian mother is so revolting that while it amuses there is a real sense of horror in her performance as well. Certainly Manfred her violent monstrous child is a surprisingly effective monster.

In many ways the film swings between black humor and horror, suspense, gore and high camp and this roller coaster ride makes it a very entertaining experience. There are also some nice “hot scenes” as well with some hunky men and sweaty action.

This film, of course, has resonances with so many horror classics, ranging from psycho to Nightmare on Elm Street. Here Manfred, the mad bastard child, has been born from the seed of a hundred Republicans gang banging at a convention ! While there is lots of humor, the gore and violence is high and there is a solid “psycho family” story here too with hints of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre or even “The Hills have Eyes”.

The exploration of prejudice, bigotry and narrowness is pointed but not polemical, it is a horror comedy of the darkest sort which allows its superior plotting, acting and gore to tell the story without hitting you over the head.

There is also a lot of mood created in the details, ranging from an altar to George Bush and Christian fundamentalists to the sprouting of Old Testament phrases. It would have been too easy for this to end with the demonization of the mad straight Christian woman and certainly, considering how most fundamentalists behave, it would have be more than deserved.

However, there is a bite in the tail, the drag queen and young folk singer become just as mad as Helen and Luella and take their places looking after Manfred and preparing for new guests. If there is a true evil in the film, it is the insane superstitious beliefs which seem to infect both Helen and Luella and even get to the others in the end…

The Gay Bed and Breakfast of Terror is a superb scary, fun romp with moments of true terror, lots of laugh and some truly memorable hard to forget scenes !