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This is one of three movies on the late Saturday show that totally scared me as a child. The other two being the vampire flicks Vampire Circus and Let's Scare Jessica to Death. Sadly, none of the three are readily available on video. Hopefully they all will make their way to DVD eventually and i can relive my childhood fears through them.

Besides featuring Mel from Alice, this film is unusual for it's level of gore and sadism shown on television (but hey, it was the 70's!). Like Vampire Circus, it fueled my childhood fascination with children in peril as the orphans (inmates) were slaughtered for trying to escape.

SOMEONE PLEASE PUT THIS ON DVD! It's a good creepy 70's sicky!

After a spate of disappointing gay films in the mid 90's, Lilies appeared from Canada as a fresh bouquet presenting a refreshing change of pace. Improving upon the play its based on, Lilies uses various cinematic conventions to its advantage, with cuts between prison re-enactments and the actual events given seamlessly and often artisticly breathtaking. The use of cross gender casting (this is an all male film) is humorous to a degree, but never in a mocking drag queen tone. We come to believe these men are really women. And the coming of age love story at the center of the plot, done to death by so many other films, is achingly tender.

It was once said that gay work has to have someone die in it and this film is no exception. But the deaths portrayed here and the long hidden betrayal finally revealed are handled quite effectively. The artifice involved only adds an extra layer of beauty upon the story. A remarkable acheivement.

Fearless is, in my opinion, the best film of the 1990's. The first time I saw it, I literally could not breathe during the climactic plane crash sequence. Upon repeated viewings, I always find something new to ponder about life, death and relationships. Heady stuff, but handled with a sensitivity rarely seen in a Hollywood film. The acting is all around superb (Bridges, Perez and Roselini have never been better!) and the use of music throughout is perfectly inspired, from Goreki to U2. I cannot think of a better film of the past decade.

I've always been interested in the idea of "what happens next" after a major crisis or disaster (I'm still waiting for a film to show the after effects of a horror movie slaughter effectively. Wait, Halloween h20 did that!) Before I digress further, let me say that Fearless may be an acquired taste for some but if you are patient with it, it will unfold for you lie a flower in bloom.