LOCAL SCENE
Gay horror flick screens at the Loft
By Phil Villarreal
pvillarreal@azstarnet.com
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.15.2008
Jaymes Thompson wants to be a trailblazer for gay film. He's looking to reach what he sees as a vast, wealthy, largely untapped market.
Thompson is in town to present a screening of his debut film, "The Gay Bed and Breakfast of Terror," tonight at the Loft Cinema.
It's a horror flick about gay couples who meet up at a clunky, frightening bed-and-breakfast in the middle of nowhere. He shot the film in Eden, a hamlet in Eastern Arizona that's about a 2 1/2-hour drive from Tucson.
The 38-year-old UCLA graduate, who earned a master's in film at San Diego State, is nailing down the final details of a six-city theatrical opening, and the film will be released on DVD later this year. The film has toured the film-festival wilderness, popping up mainly at gay- and horror-themed fests. Its tagline? "Some things should stay in the closet."
We caught up with the Los Angeles-area resident over the phone last week.
How did you find Eden?
"One of our main actresses, Lisa Block-Wieser, lives in Tucson, and we used Tucson as a base. She's actually responsible for finding the location."
What did you think of the location?
"I was horrified. It was a great, really big, run-down, Victorian, middle-of-nowhere property. It was spectacular. They have hot springs and mud springs, and people go there to stay in the house. There's food and stuff and a working kitchen. Sixteen rooms. It's literally falling apart. The people who own it kind of let people stay there. They let you in and basically kind of camp out in the house."
It's literally crumbling?
"The place is falling apart. Plaster was falling down from the ceiling while we were shooting there."
Describe your film.
"Five unsuspecting couples are lured into a seemingly friendly gay bed-and-breakfast during the biggest gay holiday weekend. It's an homage to horror films."
Have you gotten sick of watching it yet?
"Yes. Sometimes I watch it, sometimes I don't. (At a festival) in San Diego, I wasn't planning on watching it again, but standing outside and hearing the audience reacting to it so well made me go back in to watch. It's a midnight movie type. People get very raucous."
Do you have a favorite gay horror film?
"Not yet. The genre is still in its infancy. The first gay horror film was "HellBent" (2004). It kind of got the ball rolling a little bit."
If you're involved in filmmaking and would like to be featured in a Q&A, write to pvillarreal@azstarnet.com.
0 Comments on this story
