Kiss Me, Kill Me

A film from the very talented Casper Andres. A gay reality show producer Stephen (Gale Harold) is celebrating his birthday with his current boyfriend Dusty (Van Hansis). However Stephen's ex-boyfriend Craigsey (Matthew Ludwinski) shows up spoiling things. Dusty storms out followed by Stephen. They end up at a convenience store arguing which is held up by a guy. Stephen is shot and killed--Dusty is shot and wounded. The police think Dusty did it...but he blacked out and can't prove he DIDN'T do it.

Complex, twisty and well-done. Some of the acting is bad but I found the story intriguing. The direction by Andreas is great and the cinematography is stunning. There are a too few many twists and turns at the end but I still loved it. Recommended.

This is a virtual "who's who" of gay Hollywood C-listers; people who have had either been on reality TV or been in their own web-series just enough to be kind of recognizable....kind of. But once the novelty of "oh! That's that guy...from...um..." wears off, we're left with a REALLY bad script, horrible acting and very stale dialogue. Not sure who or how this was greenlit, but it has a very amateur feel and I wouldn't recommend it at all.

I didn't realize saying "I'm the landlord" or "I'm the lawyer" allows people to walk into an active crime scene. A suggestion to any aspiring screenwriters: If you want to write about something you don't have personal experience with, there is no shame in doing research. It might make the story more believable.

Watching Kiss Me Kill Me you would think that all of West Hollywood is one big gay party. However this film which starts with a party has several murders in it and the wrong guy fingered by the police for all of them.

Gale Harrold is a reality TV show host and quite a user of men and boys who are all eager for fame and fortune. Harrold is in the process of dumping Van Hansiss and taking up with Matthew Ludwinski. But before that happens, Harrold is killed in a liquor store holdup along with the clerk and Hansis is wounded and with no memory of the events.

This film was a decent effort to capture a certain amount of Hitchcockian type suspense in a gay context. The detectives investigating the homicides that are piling up in West Hollywood are played by Jai Rodriguez and Yolanda Ross. Ross is the only significant speaking role in the film and as most cops I've ever known once her mind is set nothing changes it. Truth be told it does look bad for Hansis.

A whole lot of mind games are being played by some very manipulative people. Not surprising since several cast members are in the mental health field. After the murderer is revealed, there's a coda to the climax showing how the murderer was also being manipulated.

Not a bad story and what a gay old place West Hollywood is.

Right from the stylish opening credits (which reminded me of 1963's Charade), this is a stylish, compelling and ultimately very satisfying thriller. It certainly kept me entertained and guessing until the end, mainly because it works on so many levels. Largely, this is due to the quality of the script, which twists and turns brilliantly, without ever losing sight of characters to care about. But mention should also be made of the direction, which is so assured (the movie looks absolutely stunning) and the performances of the cast. Some murder mysteries take an age to get going, but what is particularly impressive about Kiss Me, Kill Me is that it hits the ground running from the outset, and doesn't slacken. Not once was I bored, or looking at my watch. For me, this was one of the unsung gems of the year. Highly recommended.