Denied Review

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(More customer reviews)DENIED is a very low budget, handmade film written, directed, edited and co-produced by one David Scott. The actual film is fraught with technical problems: the sound track is so poor that it is almost impossible to hear much less understand what the actors are saying; the editing leaves long black gaps between scenes; the bulk of the film takes place at night with such minimal lighting that 'seeing' what is happening on screen is difficult at best. Having said all that, the idea for the story is a solid one if not particularly well written. Troy (played by the handsome and sensitive actor Lee Rhumohr - the camera loves this guy!) is a popular highschool jock with the world at his feet, girlfriends, popularity, and yet he is trapped by the knowledge that he is gay. He secretly loves Merrick, a DJ/artist who is as superficial as they come and has a steady girlfriend but in rooming with Troy, Merrick engages in sex with Troy in the secrecy of night, never discussing it at dawn - the true closet case. The story explores the psyche of Troy as he comes to grips with the fact that he wants a relationship with Merrick while Merrick just wants sex for sex sake, without the kissing and warmth Troy requests and needs. How this is resolved is the point of the film
Now, you have to really work with this film to get the story, the dialogue, even the action. The writer/director/editor shows promise: his story is solid, his characters are well drawn (and in the case of Troy, VERY well acted by Lee Rhumohr), and he has some interesting camera shots up his sleeve as well as an Indy flavor that hopefully he will cultivate. In the end - with lots of struggle - I think the work is worth it, if for nothing else than the message and the introduction of a promising newcomer in Rhumohr. With a bigger budget and more time to make this movie it could have been excellent. The DVD has 'added footage' which amounts to little more than the practice kiss between the two characters. A commentary from the director would have been very additive and helpful.

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Shank - Unrated Director Cut (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)The film, "Shank" was one of the offerings at the 14th Annual Gay and Lesbian Film Festival at the Carolina Theater in Durham, NC from August 13th through August 16th, 2009. It was not an easy film to watch because it depicted gang members who spent their days drinking and using drugs and filling their nights as a group picking out gay men who happened to be alone and defenseless, beating them senseless just for fun. In that gang was a young man named Cal who was a closeted gay man fighting it with everything he was worth. The problem was, he was in love with the defacto-leader of the gang, so much so that the desires he felt had bubbled up from their depths and in spite of himself, he found himself seeking out ways to meet those needs with strange men. The tightrope he had to walk was this: meet those desires but at all costs never let the gang discover he was doing it. He was so conflicted that after he would give in to his desires, he would become physically sick and woe to any man who happened to be his pickup if he assumed after the incident that Cal was gay.
One night, the prey that the gang selected for their gay bashing was a young college student and before the beating completely got out of hand, Cal stopped it surprising both the gang members and the victim, as well as himself. The victim, Oliver, was so thankful to Cal for saving him, he brought him home and treated him nicely giving Cal his first opportunity to have a decent relationship. But, the gang members couldn't let Cal drop out of the gang. That would be treason and would require revenge, so as each day passed they planned and plotted to win him back, but that was before they discovered his secret. When they found out what Cal had been up to, pay-back was required and a scheme that would outrank anything they had ever done began to take shape.
Again, it was not an easy movie to watch but we need to see these kind of films to be reminded that there are places in this world where gays and lesbians are not safe without others to back us up. And don't be fooled that America is exempt from this hatred (it has only been a few short years since the incident of Matthew Shepherd occurred). Many hate us and would rather see us dead or never born than to see us walking around gay and proud.
But, back to the film itself and what I think made it not just a good movie but a great one. Near the end of the film there was a scene where no words were spoken. Two actions were taken by two of the characters in the film one of which was a request for forgiveness and the other was a granting of that request. The scene simply accomplished what the most elaborate words could have never achieved. It was a scene that will live forever in my memory. Rent the DVD when it comes out in October and see if you can pick out the scene I'm talking about.


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Shank is a blistering British indie pulsating with untamed sexuality and aggression. Cal (Wayne Virgo) is a handsome teenage thug so desperate to hide his gay cravings from his fellow gang members that he binges on drugs, secretive anonymous sex and acts of violence. But the bad boy s secret desires are uncovered when he rescues a kind-eyed French exchange student from one of the clan s sadistic hate crimes. Though the two boys fall passionately in love, Cal s crew is bent on revenge for his betrayal and the young lovers are placed in unspeakable danger. Unapologetic and as poignant as it is shocking, Shank is a must see...

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