We are now just a few days away from the start of the 30th Annual Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. This is the longest running film festival in Austin and one of the largest LGBT film fests in the US. This year will run from Thursday Sept 7th through the 10th and there’s still badges and memberships available HERE. This year’s fest has the best film line-up I have ever seen at aGLIFF; check out the full listing in our earlier article HERE.
As we lead up to the fest I’m going to post a series of previews for films to be sure and check out. Don’t forget to get your badge and I’ll see you there.
B&B – Saturday, September 9 at 11:45 p.m.
Hitchcockian is a term that is used far too often to describe suspenseful thrillers, but if Hitchcock were alive today and making films for modern gay men I could very easily see him producing a film like B&B. Writer/Director Joe Ahearne has mastered that same perfect balance of pitch black humor and delicious suspense.
Marc (Tom Bateman) and Fred (Sean Teale) are a married couple who are spending a night in a country B&B after winning a lawsuit when the B&B owner would not let them share a room the year before. The owner, Josh (Paul McGann), a religious man, is openly hostile when having to accommodate them but is unaware that his own teenage son is gay. Another lone guest, an attractive Russian who speaks no English, arrives; sparking speculation from the couple that maybe he’s gay or a basher there to intimidate them. Things start to spin out of control when the Russian makes plans with the teenager to go off on a late night rendezvous in a cruisey park and the couple’s mobile phones stop working, cutting them off from the outside world.
Part of B&B’s brilliance is how, while being completely captivating, the narrative weaves in very modern commentary on the state of tolerance. It approaches, honestly, the world we live in where rights are being legally restored but individual businesses and people are trying to discriminate under the notion of exercising their beliefs. That theme plays out subtly in the background of this twisting, suspense tale and never overwhelms or seems heavy handed. Front and center is the intrigue of this paranoid couple and the mysterious stranger in a tale that kept me glued to my seat and guessing at each new twist. This is a must see for mystery and thriller junkies alike.
Adam Ruhl is a writer and life long Cinephile. He is the Executive
Cinema Editor of Pop Culture Beast’s Austin branch; covering festivals,
conventions, and new releases. When not filing reports, Adam can be
found stalking Alamo Drafthouse Programmers for leads on upcoming
DrafthouseFilms titles. Adam once blocked Harry Knowles entrance to a
theater until he was given extra tickets to a Roman Polanski movie.