Phil attends the 16th ANNUAL BRONCHO BILLY SILENT FILM FESTIVAL: Day Three-June 30, 2013

Greetings and salutations everybody and welcome to the third and final day of the 16th Annual Broncho Billy Silent Film Festival! A lot of fun and excitement took place on Sunday, so folks, if you don't mind, let's get this day started!

I arrived at the Edison Theater where I along with over two dozen silent film fans took a WALKING TOUR OF NILES! Led by David and Rena Kiehn, the tour consisted of visiting various locations and landmarks in Niles that the Essanay Film Studios used for their films. From the old building that used to be original location of the studio itself, David and Rena gave a fun and informative tour! Also as an added bonus, David included the locations that he used for his new silent film BRONCHO BILLY AND THE BANDIT'S SECRET!

After the tour, we all returned to the Edison Theater for the next screening. STUNT LOVE is an half hour Australian documentary focusing on stunt pioneers (and real life Hollywood couple) Helen Holmes and J.P McGowan. Interviewed in the documentary were David Donaldson, Richard Maltby, Geoff Mayer, modern day daredevil Zoe Bell. It also contained movie clips and archival footage of this powerful dynamic couple!

The film was introduced Shirley Frietas, J.P. and Helen's granddaughter. And after the screening, their was a discussion about the subject moderated by board member Sprague Anderson and featuring silent film actress and author Diana Serra Cary and author/historian Bob Birchard.

Afterwards there was an hour break, then the fun continued with closing night film! But before the film, Rene announced the winners for the raffle as well as the silent actions that was happening during the festival. Ukulele sweetheart and singer Janet Klien performed a couple of songs (using her ukulele that lights up in the dark), and John Bengston (author of the Silent Echoes series of books) gave a presentation on the various locations that the great Buster Keaton used in tonight's film.

The museum had an encore screening of their new silent film BRONCHO BILLY AND THE BANDIT'S SECRET. At this screening, many of David's family members were in the audience, including of the film's stars: Diana Serra Cary!! After the screening, it was time for the main feature!

SHERLOCK JR. (1924): In the movie Buster Keaton plays a projectionist (and janitor) in a movie theater. However, he's also studying to become a detective. He's also in love with a beautiful girl (Kathryn McGuire), but he has competition in the form of Ward Crane. One day he is accused of stealing his girlfriend's father's watch and thus is told he can never see her again. He goes back to the theater, where he falls asleep and dreams that he's a Sherlock Holmes-type detective, solving the case of who stole a valuable pearl necklace.

This was a clever film-within-a-film movie that really showed off Buster's amazing acrobatic abilities while also creating a witty and loveable character that we all cheer for! Buster directed the film and he did all of his own stunts as well as for actor Ford West (in the scene where the motorcycle he is driving with Keaton on the handlebars, hits a deep pothole and bucks him off flat on his behind). Also, there's the scene where Keaton was hanging off of a tube connected to a water basin. The water poured out and washed him on to the track. It was here where he suffered a broken neck, but he was unaware that he did it. It wasn't until he saw a doctor years later that he discovered this fact out courtesy of a X-ray that he had gotten. The film was released to theaters on April 21, 1924. The movie was selected to the National Film Registry, Library of Congress in 1991.

Well folks, there you have it! Another great festival and another great time at the museum. Remember that the museum has weekly Saturday shows, and they will also be showing Laurel and Hardy talkies on Sunday afternoons. To learn more about the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, how to become a member, and view their film schedule, visit their website at www.nilesfilmmuseum.org.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show! 

Phil attends the 16th ANNUAL BRONCHO BILLY SILENT FILM FESTIVAL: Day Two, Part Three-June 29, 2013

Hello my friends, and welcome to day two of my trip to the 16th ANNUAL BRONCHO BILLY SILENT FILM FESTIVAL at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum at the historic Edison Theater in the Niles District of Fremont! My up to the minute review continues with this evening's program!

Before the night's films, both Rene Kiehn and museum president Dorothy Bradley present the Ray Hubbard Award Recipient for 2013 to Walter and Marcia Levy. The Levy's have been major supporters of the museum long before the museum even existed. I have seen them in attendance at the museum every Saturday night since I've been coming since 2006. I didn't know them well, but they were very nice and loved watching silent films. Walter passed away back in October 2012. A couple of weeks ago, the museum visited Marcia to present her with the award in person. She was very excited and honored. She passed away a couple of days ago. They will be missed here!

After the Hubbard presentation, archivist David Kiehn came back up to discuss about the short film we were about to see, which was the hilarious...

SOPHIE'S HERO (1913): The film was part of a series of western comedies called Snakeville comedies. In the short, three and a half local cowboys (one is about 5ft tall so he counts as half) are vying for the affection of Sophie Clutts (Margaret Ike), who is the only woman in the town of Snakeville. Also starring in the film are Essanay actors Harry Todd, Fred Church, Victor Potel, and Alkali Ike (he left for Universal Pictures to star in his own series, but it didn't last).

After a brief intermission, the show continued with...

HIS NIBS (1921): Directed by Gregory La Cava, the film stars vaudeville comedian Charles "Chic" Sale. The comedy takes place in a movie theater called The Slippery Elm Nickelodeon, where an old and craggy projectionist named Theodore "His Nibs" Bender (Sale) is showing a movie called HE FOOLED THEM ALL, starring...yup, you guessed it...Sale!! He played SEVEN different characters in the film! Besides Bender and the boy in the film, Sale also portrayed Wally Craw, Mr. Percifer, Elmer Bender, Peelee Gear Jr., and Miss Dessie Teed. The clever movie-within-a-movie premise provides Sale an opportunity to showcase his comedic timing and talent that he used in his vaudeville acts. Starring as his love interest is none other than Colleen Moore, in one of her early screen appearances! The film was released by Exceptional Pictures on October 22, 1921.

And that was it for Day Two of the festival!! Remember the Broncho Billy Film Festival concludes this Sunday! So make plans to attend this event! To purchase tickets and passes, view the festival's film schedule, and to become a member, visit the museum's official website at http://nilesfilmmuseum.org.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil attends the 16th ANNUAL BRONCHO BILLY FILM FESTIVAL: Day Two, Part Two-Jue 29, 2013

Hello again folks and welcome back to my up to the minute coverage of the 16th ANNUAL BRONCHO BILLY SILENT FILM FESTIVAL! The afternoon show was entitled "Essanay Films Made in Niles." Six historical film were screened, featuring Broncho Billy himself: Gilbert M. Anderson! On the piano for the afternoon was David Drazin!

THE MAKING OF BRONCHO BILLY (1913): The film is an early attempt as what we would call a "prequel." After making several Broncho Billy shorts for the past couple of years, G.M. Anderson decided to give his character a backstory, giving audiences a look at how Broncho Billy came to be. Basically, the East Coast transplant Billy is pretty mush a wimp. He drinks soda pop in a salon, which gets him teased by the locals such as Wilkes (Brinsley Shaw). Soon Billy gets a gun and practices until he becomes an expert marksman. He then sets off to find Wilkes to prove his manhood. This 16mmprint came from the museum's own vault!

WHY BRONCHO BILLY LEFT BEAR COUNTY (1913): This print is from the vaults of the NESFM! Broncho Billy helps out his friend Marion Rivers (Marguerite Clayton) with carrying her drunk father home. Marion repays the favor by preventing Broncho Billy from robbing a stagecoach. Unfortunately her father does rob the stagecoach, so it's up to BB to save the day!

BRONCHO BILLY'S GUN-PLAY (1913): Broncho Billy gets called in by Sheriff Waters (Brinsley Shaw) to help round up a bunch of fierce bandits led by a man called Hawk Eye (Fred Church). The 35mm film print came courtesy from the British Film Institute.

BRONCHO BILLY'S GRATEFULNESS (1913): Broncho Billy wonders in the country with a terrible fever. He stumbles across the home of John Harding (Brinsley Shaw) and his wife (Evelyn Selbie). He gets better and says if they need anything let him now. When Fred Church comes back to attempt to blackmail Mrs. Harding with her old love letters, John hunts him down to kill him. So she aks BB's help to save her husband. The 35mm film print came courtesy from the British Film Institute.

BRONCHO BILLY AND THE SHERIFF'S KID (1913): Our friend Broncho Billy breaks out of jail and hides out in the back country. While the sheriff looks for him, his daughter, while walking home from school, falls down a step cliff. BB finds her and takes her home to her mother. While fetching the town's doctor, he gets shot by the sheriff, but when makes it to back to the sheriff's house, his wife has a story to tell him! The 35mm film print came courtesy from the British Film Institute.

THE SHERIFF'S WIFE (1913): A pair of thieves try to rob the sheriff's house where his wife is safe guarding a bag of gold that was confiscated. Little to the thieves realize is that this one sheriff's wife that you don't want to messed with!!  The 35mm film print came courtesy from the British Film Institute.

And that's it for this afternoon! Now I'll be back later on to talk about the afternoon show! Remember the Broncho Billy Film Festival is going on all this weekend! So make plans to attend this event! To purchase tickets and passes, view the festival's film schedule, and to become a member, visit the museum's official website at http://nilesfilmmuseum.org.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil attends the 16th ANNUAL BRONCHO BILLY SILENT FILM FESTIVAL: DAY TWO, PART ONE-June 29, 2013

Hello again everybody and welcome back to my coverage of the 16th ANNUAL BRONCHO BILLY SILENT FILM FESTIVAL! I'll be giving all of you the latest screenings at the festival. Providing the musical accompaniment was the always amazing Judy Rosenberg. So let's not waste anymore time and let's talk about Saturday morning's event!

At 11am the museum had author Gary Lee Parks give a slide show presentation entitled CLASSIC BAY AREA THEATERS. An avid theater lover, Parks gave us a tour of movie theater from all around the country, with many pictures of theaters located here in the Bay Area. One of the pictures shown was the old Jose Theater located in my hometown San Jose. The Jose is now the Improve Theater, the popular comedy club in the heart of Downtown SJ. I also saw a picture of the Golden State Theater in Monterey (I've seen several silent films there back in the day), plus theaters from Watsonville, Santa Cruz, Oakland, and of course, San Francisco. After his presentation, he had table set up where he signed several copies of his books.

At 12:30, our next speaker Professor Russell Merritt introduced the next segment of the morning: animation! However, he focused on the animation that was coming out from Europe. He spoke about Emile Reynaud, the forgotten pioneer of animation. He talked about how the animation from America was mostly based on comic strip characters like Felix the Cat or Koko the Clown, the European animators were creating experimental and avant garde animated short films that were really extraordinary. He screened two shorts and a main feature.

PAUVRE PIERROT (1892): This simple cartoon featuring a love triangle between two men who are both in love with the same woman. What really surprised me the most was that the short still exists! The cartoon is 121 years old! And it was cute and quite funny! It was just astounding to see history being screened right before my eyes! The film was directed by Emile Reynaud.

THE CAMERMAN'S REVENGE (1912): The titles sounds like a typical, rambunctious cartoon, full if slapstick and sight gags. However, in actuality, it's a stop motion animation short with dead insects being animated to walk around like people. Yes, it was crazy bizarre, but really funny to watch! Directed by Ladislas Starewicz, the short is also known as REVENGE OF THE KINEMATOGRAPH CAMERMAN.

After the two shorts, then introduced the main feature of the morning.

THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMEND (1926): Directed by Lotte Reinger, the film is considered a landmark film in the world of animation. Telling that tale of the beloved classic Arrabian Nights, the film was made in silhouette using animated puppets to tell the story. I had the opportunity to see the film years ago at the Castro Theatre during the San Francisco Silent Film festival and it was amazing to see the genius of the film again. Of course credit goes to Lotte Reinger, who animated a truly original work of art!

What a great morning program of films! Now I'll be back later on to talk about the afternoon show! Remember the Broncho Billy Film Festival is going on all this weekend! So make plans to attend this event! To purchase tickets and passes, view the festival's film schedule, and to become a member, visit the museum's official website at http://nilesfilmmuseum.org.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil attends the Opening Night of the 16th ANNUAL BRONCHO BILLY SILENT FILM FESTIVAL-June 28, 2013

It's hard to believe it's that time again, but it's back! I'm here in the historic Niles District attending the 16th ANNUAL BRONCHO BILLY SILENT FILM FESTIVAL! Held at the Edison Theater, the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum is celebrating two historical events! First it's the theatre's 100th anniversary and it was also 100 years ago this year that the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company began making movies here in Niles! It's a double centennial celebration!!

The festivities began Friday night with a gala reception over at the Fremont Bank Building, located a couple blocks from the theater. There were foods and refreshments to enjoy, plus as an added bonus, live music courtesy of ukulele sweetheart and singer Janet Klien. Klein hails from Los Angeles where she has a band called Janet Klein and her Parlor Boys. Specializing in performing naughty and lovely tunes of the teens, 20's, and 30's, have released a staggering seven CDs! She's a very talented ukulele player as well as a having an angelic voice, look for her and her band performing in a town near you!

After the reception, everybody made it over to the Edison Theatre for a night of silent film celebration, and there was a lot to celebrate that night. Janet Klien once again performed a couple of songs. Board members Michael Bonham and Rene Keihn welcomed the sold-out crowd and introduced the films we were going to see, especially the brand new silent film that archivist/historian/author/ projectionist (and now director) David Keihn has been working on for the past year! Performing on the piano was the always fantastic Bruce Loeb!

BILLY McGRATH ON BROADWAY (1913): Once believed to be lost, a rare nitrate print of the film was discovered in a projector in the basement of a home in Grand Junction, Colorado! After Billy's sees a terrible play, he comes up with the idea of producing a play of his own. However, when the entire casts walks out on him, the stage crew helps Billy out by becoming his new cast. Like the old saying goes, the show must go on! The film was made at the Essanay Chicago studio.

BRONCHO BILLY AND THE BANDIT'S SECRET (2013): The brand new short film that museum has been working!  Directed by David Keihn, with scenario by Keihn and Sprague Anderson, the film was made using the same cameras and techniques that were used during the silent film era! The film is a western, filled with train robbers, the local sheriff, and the man himself, Broncho Billy Anderson, back up on the big screen where he belongs! In their intro, both Keihn and Anderson mentioned that their new film was the workprint, meaning that this was a rough version of the film. It still needs a little more work, but what from I saw, it looked incredible! Many of the actors were in the audience, dressed in their costumes! I can't wait to see the final version of this soon to be silent classic!

After a brief intermission, the show continued with:

SHOW PEOPLE (1928): Directed by King Vidor, the film stars Marion Davies as Peggy Pepper, a Southern Belle who comes to Hollywood with her father to become a star in the movies. However, she has to start at the bottom, and in Hollywood, that means starring in slapstick comedies, a far cry of her dreams; becoming a dramatic actress of period films. She befriends comedian Billy Boone (William Haines) who shows her the ropes and helps her with realizing her dreams. Once she makes it to the top, will stardom go to her head? And what will happen to her loveable Billy?

Marion Davis had fantastic comedic timing and execution, and she loved making them. However, her lover William Randell Hearst thought comedies were beneath her and she should star in dramas and period pieces. King Vidor did a great job of capturing Davis' comedic performances. The film was released by MGM in 1928, just as the silent film world was in transition of becoming "talkies."

What a wonderful night! Spirits were high, the crowd was awesome, the films were funny, what could be better? More movies, maybe? Well guess what? The Broncho Billy Film Festival is going on all this weekend! So make plans to attend this event! To purchase tickets and passes, view the festival's film schedule, and to become a member, visit the museum's official website at http://nilesfilmmuseum.org.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil attends FRAMELINE 37: Day Four-June 23, 2013

Welcome back to my final day of attending the Frameline37: San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival!! I saw another three outstanding films on Sunday, so sit back, relax, and enjoy my reviews!

The first film I saw was the documentary THE CAMPAIGN. This locally produced made film chronicled all the hard work and grass roots activism that transpired back in 2008, when the evil Prop 8 Bill was put on the ballot. The documentary showed all the volunteers that worked hard in defeating Prop 8; all their blood, sweat, and unfortunately, their tears. When Prop 8 passed, it devastated the queer community, especially here in San Francisco. The film spotlights those who really made an impact during the campaign.

The film was a painful reminder for me about what happened during that election. Even though the country made progress my electing Barrak Obama as president, the passing of Prop 8 was like a slap in the face! It became clear to me that even though we live in the 21st century, the thought of gays and lesbians getting married was blasphemies. To me the issue was more about civil rights than gay rights. I voted against Prop 8 while members of my own family voted for it. Of course we know how the Mormon church got involved with the Prop 8 campaign and how the used their money to swing the vote for their side. But history has been made and a grave mistake has been corrected. Even as I type this, DOMA has been defeated and Prop 8 no longer exist. Gay and lesbians have been getting married in masses. And I for one am very happy to see all my queer friends get married! After the screening, many of the film's cast and crew participated in a Q&A session. This was such a powerful, moving, emotionally charged film!! 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

The second film of the day was another amazing documentary. I AM DIVINE tells the story of the beloved Divine, the infamous underground drag queen starlet that rose to fame through the films by his best friend John Waters. Appearing in such classic trash films like PINK FLAMINGOS, FEMALE TROUBLE and LUST IN THE DUST, Divine went from a Baltimore drag queen to Hollywood superstar, thanks in large part to Water's first mainstream film HAIRSPRAY, which garnered her acclaim and attention. But on the eve of Divine's Hollywood debut, she passed away. Those interviewed for the film include Mink Stole, Tab Hunter, Ricki Lake, members of the legendary Cockettes, and of course John Waters.

The film was directed by acclaimed filmmaker Jeffery Schwartz (he made last year's outstanding documentary VITO), and was largely crowdfunded through Indiegogo and Kickstarter. For me, I loved Divine. Ever since I first saw her in HAIRSPRAY, I knew that I wanted to see all her films. She has become a drag icon in the gay community and she and her legacy will forever live on! Many of the film's crew and interviewers were on hand and conducted a Q&A session with the audience. Another  superb and loving tribute to the one and only Divine!! 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

The third and final film I saw on Sunday was the hilarious comedy WHO'S AFRAID OF VAGINA WOLF? Meet Anna (director Anna Margarita Albelo), a forty year old, latino, lesbian filmmaker who lives in her friend's garage and chain smokes while trying her to do list: lose 20 pounds, find a girlfriend, and write the script for her feature film debut. Oh she also dresses up in a vagina costume. When she meets Katia (Janina Gavankar) she finds the inspiration to write her film (but plans to use the film as a way to win Katia's heart). Joining Anna on her madcap adventure are her two best friends, Penelope (Guinevere Turner) and Chloe (Carrie Preston), but things don't work out well for the film or for Anna. Will she able to make her film and make Katia her girlfriend or will she go back to square one all over again?

The film is funny from beginning to end! Anna does a great job at both acting and directing, and seeing Guinevere Turner up on the big screen again was just icing on the cake! Our two leads have great on-screen chemistry (of course it also helps that they've been friends for years) and their comedic timings are outrageously funny! After the film both Anna and Guinevere conducted and interview and a Q&A with the audience. A terrific lesbian comedy that will have you laughing down the aisle! 4 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

And there you have it! My very first trip to a Frameline Film Festival! I had so much fun at this festival that I'm already planning to attended more screenings at next year's festival. In the meantime, the festival continues until June 30th so there's still time to check out all these amazing films! To purchase tickets, passes, and to view the screenings schedule, visit their official website at www.frameline.org.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil attends FRAMELINE 37: Day Three-June 22, 2013

Hello again everybody and welcome back to Day Two of my trip to Frameline37: San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival!! On Saturday I saw three films, including a midnight show featuring the one and only Peaches Christ!! Keeping me company on my trip was my best friend and make-up artist Michelle Snyder. So let's get this party started!!

The first film we saw was a documentary called BIG JOY: THE ADVENTURES OF JAMES BROUGHTON. Poet, author, filmmaker, trickster, artist, James Broughton was all these things and more.  He was part of the San Francisco Renaissance. He was an early pioneer of the experimental film movement in America. He was also the inspiration of the beat movement. He was part of the Radical Faeries as well as a member of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence named Sister Sermonetta. He had love affairs with both men and women, and briefly lived with the film critic Pauline Kael and they had a daughter named Gina. But it wasn't until Broughton met student Joel Singer, that he had finally fallen in love. And Joel became his muse, and created several new short films as well as new poetry books. James and Joel remained together for the next 25 years until his death on May 17, 1999.

The film was simply wonderful as well as inspiring! Here is an artist who made art his life, his passion, and his career. While he was making his incredible body of work, he was hiding in the closet, which affected his art because he was acting straight. But he followed his dream and became an acclaimed and award winning filmmaker and author. To the artist inside of me, I wished I could've been more like him! Truly an inspiration! After the screening, the producers as well as people interviewed in the film came onstage to conduct and funny and touching Q&A. Just a fantastic documentary! 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

The second film Michelle and I saw was the new film by the award winning lesbian director Jamie Babbit. BREAKING THE GIRLS is one outstanding thriller that features some great thrills and jaw dropping twists and turns! Sara Ryan (Agnes Bruckner) is young law student who works as a bartender. One night her friend and fellow classmate Eric (Shawn Ashmore) walks into the bar and somewhat flirts with her. This does not sit well with Brooke (Shanna Collins), who's dating Eric. Broke begins to sabotage Sara's life and until she has nothing left (she loses her housing, her scholarship, and her job). Enter Alex (Madeline Zima) a striking, mysterious, wild, beautiful and spoiled rich bitch lesbian who comes to Sara's rescue. The two women instantly bond and soon a love affair begins to bloom. But then things become complicated as lies, deceit and murder begin to consume Sara's life, thanks to Alex. To save her life, she reaches out to Eric and to Alex's gold-digging stepmother Nina (Kate Levering) for help, but will it be too late?

The film is easily her greatest production to date. Sporting a top notch and professional cast, high production value, and one outstanding script (courtesy of iconic lesbian actress/screenwriter Guinevere Turner), Babbit breaks the mold of what a lesbian film could and should be! And by working in a totally different genre, she gets to stretch out her wings as a director and really venture into a whole new world with new toys to play with. Interesting set-ups and lighting, long takes, and intricate characters are what we find in the film. Plus not too mention, hot steamy lesbian action that well make you sweat! An amazing piece of cinema from beginning to end! Destined to become a true classic!! 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

Before the screening, the festival presented Babbit with the Frameline Award for her contributions to queer cinema and even showed a reel with clips from her work in film and television. After the screening, she and Turner took the stage for a fun and interesting Q&A session!

After the screening Michelle and I went and had a few drinks over at the bar Twin Peaks on the corner of Castro and Market. Then we dashed across the street for some very yummy pizza! Then it was back to the Castro Theatre for the special midnight show!!

For this year's Frameline, the festival teamed up with the iconic Peaches Christ for a Midnight Mass extravaganza! Peaches screened one of the greatest queer horror films of all time: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET PART 2: FREDDY' REVENGE!! And she had a very special guest for the show: the film's scream queen star himself Mark Patton was there live and in-person!! Michelle and I made our way to the front row so we could see all the action!

The show began with a horrifying and scary (in a good way of course) opening act with our hostess dressed up as Peaches Krueger doing was she does best; torturing a young nubile teenage boy in his sleep while leading a dance number with hot and sexy gay guys dressed up in leather! Peaches' make-up was just incredible! I think even Robert England himself would be impressed!

After the song and dance, Peaches thanked the audience and welcomed the return of the Midnight Mass!! She then wasted no time in bringing up Mark Patton for a very interesting and quite informative interview. Mark recalled the making of the film, the long hours, him knowing how queer the film was and so forth. He also talked about coming out and living in South America. Peaches had another surprise up her sleeve, as she called up the film's cinematographer Jacques Haitkin to the stage! After the interview, both Mark and Jacques took questions from the audience. There was also a costume contest, and then it was movie time!!

In the film, Mark portrays Jesse, the new kid in town who's family has just moved into Nancy Thomson's old house on Elm Street. However it doesn't very long till he's having the same horrific nightmares that plagued poor Nancy had about Freddy. Jesse befriends his neighbor and classmate Lisa, whom he tells about his horrible nightmares but she doesn't believe him. That is until she starts having the same nightmares herself. After doing some research on Freddy, she finds out that he's planning to take it over Jesse's body, but she may be too late. When he does takes over Jesse's body, all Hell breaks loose.

In hindsight, it's a wonder that no one in the film, cast or crew, noticed or questioned some of the material in the film. After watching it years later as an adult, I was flabbergasted on just how gay it was! The gay innuendos, the coach being tied in the shower and being whipped by towels, the leather bar scene, the list goes on and on. Go back and watch it again. It looks a lot different as an adult than it did when you were a kid! The film has gone on to become one of the greatest homoerotic horror films of all time!! And Mark has been hailed as a scream queen icon!

And that was my second day at Frameline37!! Remeber the festival continues until June 30th so there's still time to check out all these amazing films! To purchase tickets, passes, and to view the screenings schedule, visit their official website at www.frameline.org.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!