Based (loosely I gather) on a story by HP Lovecraft (which was then further immortalized by Metallica) it merges a gay love story with coastal horror fare. A local production the house was packed with folks involved with the film. As befitting it's world premiere there was even a red carpet outside. Shot with a distinctive style that will be (very) familiar to those who watched Police Beat at SIFF a couple of years ago it sets a proper moody tone. It's a somewhat dark film and that does carry over into some footage which is almost too dark to see.It starts out simple enough. A man estranged from his family comes home upon the death of his mother. He's stuck sticking around the seaside town (played by Astoria, Oregon I believe) and is reintroduced into the local weirdness. For a town allegedly aghast at his homosexuality they seem remarkably tolerant of truly bizarre things running around. Including large amount of abductions as well as Tori Spelling. Who does a great job for the record.
It held my interest though it wasn't a truly great film. Some of the acting is a little static - which also reminded me of Police Beat. So maybe it's on purpose. I found parts of it rather hard to follow - which I'm fairly sure is intended.
There's also an environmental message worked in, which may or may not be central to the storyline. If you're already familiar with this story I'm sure you'll want to see it. I'll have an update once I talk with someone who's read the source material and can compare how close it is to the original. If nothing else a comment at the end made me think about what AAA really spends membership fees on. (3/5)
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