Socket

Ordering/renting TLA Video Releasing products is a hit-and-miss affair at best, unfortunately marked by a whole lot more "misses". The gay and lesbian independent film movement is still finding its feet yet; it is still pretty difficult to sift through all the coming out/coming-of-age/romance-against-all-odds stories and find something that seems fresh and original. I have seen a few standouts, like ANOTHER GAY MOVIE, EATING OUT, the surprisingly moving BOY CULTURE, and the slasher-film-with-a-gay-twist HELLBENT.

SOCKET, in spite of flaws that come mostly from its VERY low budget origins, can still be added to the list. Writer/director Sean Abley, who is a self-admitted fan of David Cronenberg's films, may have aimed a little too high with this semi-homage to the director, but one can't blame him for giving it a good try, or for coming up with something that's more watchable than your "average gay movie" about drugs, dancing, casual sex and all the melodrama that comes with it.

Dr. Bill Matthews (Derek Long) awakens in the hospital one day with no memory of the event that put him there, until it's explained to him that he was struck by lightning. A very attentive intern named Craig Murphy (gay indie staple Matthew Montgomery from GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN and LONG TERM RELATIONSHIP), also the victim of a lightning strike, warns Bill that life for him will never be the same, and hands him a business card with a phone number to contact a "special group" of other people who will be able to "help him when he's ready." Baffled but curious, Bill takes the card.

Later, convalescing at home with the help of lesbian buddies Carol (Rasool J'Han) and Olivia (Allie Rivenbark), Bill discovers that his ordeal has left him with some very curious side effects, not the least of which are the compulsion to clean and organize his house meticulously (amazing for the formerly sloppy singelton) and a strange attraction to his TV set, even when it's not showing anything but static and snow, (shades of James Woods in VIDEODROME!)

Eventually, all this weirdness finally does lead Bill to contact the group and reconnect with Murphy, leading to a remarkable discovery: an underground group of lightning strike victims who not only survived, but have developed a craving for electricity and the temporary "high" it brings them. Reluctant at first, once Bill's had his first taste of "juice" since his accident, he develops both an addiction to it and to Murphy, whom he engages in a torrid affair. As the story progresses, Bill's addiction grows stronger and he becomes more desperate to find ways to feed it, just like any crack head or heroin junkie, leading him to commit some horrifying acts - the kind you see in most sci-fi/horror thrillers where the hero suddenly loses control of himself to external and/or internal forces . I guess I don't have to tell you that the story doesn't exactly have a happy ending.

And actually, that's one of SOCKET'S biggest drawbacks - that it doesn't really have an ending. Where VIDEODROME, the movie that this most closely resembles, had kind of an ambiguous ending that left the audience to decide for themselves what actually happened, SOCKET just kind of...comes to a halt. It's almost as if Sean Abley had a much more elaborate ending written, but because of time and budget constraints, just sort of "winged it" with what he could come up with.

Which is too bad, because unlike a lot of gay indies that are barely watchable, this one has its very strong points. And, of course, that list starts with the leads. Long and Montgomery have great chemistry as the "charged-up" lovers, plus it's refreshing to have two actors so easy on the eyes engaged in some great love scenes that are neither as gratuitous or as forced as they have been in other movies. J'Han and Rivenbark also shine as the gal pals, though Rivenbark could've dialed the butch Olivia's character back just a tad.

As Bill's stoic colleague, Alexandra Billings does a good job playing Dr. Emily Andersen, and though it could've turned out to be a bit much, Sean Abley hits just the right notes as the leader/moderator of the "group." David Kittredge's editing seems jumbled and very disorienting at first, until you 'get' the gist of it about a third of the way through the movie. In hindsight, he and Abley made some very ingeniously creative choices, minimizing the need for special visual effects and setting the tone for the story. The effects makeup by Gage Hubbard is surprisingly effective for the kind of thing you'd get if you tried to achieve "VIDEODROME"- level ambitiousness on a "BLAIR WITCH PROJECT" budget.

There aren't nearly enough writers and directors in this particular niche of indie film-making, who are willing to go out on a limb and take some real risks with style and storytelling. With a little more time and money and opportunities to tweak the script a bit more, SOCKET could have definitely been closer to a ten-star worthy effort. As is, though, the aspects of the film that succeed far outweigh the ones where it doesn't. I would hope that future circumstances will bring director Abley together again with the engaging leads, with a project that will enable them to raise all of their talents to the next level.

Wow - some reviews have been rather harsh, don't you think? Here are my thoughts on this movie without giving too much away. It had an interesting premise that I haven't seen before. It moved along at a nice clip and never left me bored. The actors were handsome and it had enough nudity to be "fun" without being tacky. It was an enjoyable way to spend part of an evening and it is a movie I would watch again.

Yes - there are times in the movie where the smallish budget is evident - but it didn't really take me out of the movie. Yes - some of the actors might have been a little stiff, but once again; didn't take me out of the flick.

So often, people complain about the "gay stereotypes" in these movies. Guess what folks. "Stereotypical" gay people exist. Just because they aren't as "straight acting," "hipster," or "edgy" as you are does not make them less relevant.

Kudos to the director, staff and everyone else involved for making something interesting and fun.

Are you gay (or just curious)? Do you like David Cronenberg? Are you especially fond of his movies "Videodrome" and "Crash"? Do you like looking at naked men? If you answered yes to all of those questions, then "Socket" is meant for you, but you stand a better chance of enjoying it if you only want to look at naked men.

That's not to say that nudity is all "Socket" has going for it. This story about Bill Matthews (Derek Long), a surgeon who survives a lightning strike only to discover he gets an erotic charge from electricity, is a fairly promising Cronenberg homage/rip-off, the weird sexiness almost drowning out the story's overarching silliness (which is more than could be said for Cronenberg's "Crash"). Matthew ("Pornography: A Thriller") Montgomery is well cast as Craig, the hospital intern who introduces Bill to a cult of electro-fetishists, becoming the doctor's Energizer love bunny in the process. Not only does Montgomery deliver one of the movie's stronger performances, he and Long actually look like a believable couple, the two men attractive without being unattainable hunks. Also, they look pretty good naked, which they prove early and often.

But "Socket" also has a lot going against it. While Long looks good in the buff, his performance isn't as captivating, his acting style leading me to wonder if he was a porn star trying for legitimacy (he isn't). At least he's better than Allie Rivenbark as Olivia, one of the doctor's lesbian friends. Crass lesbian friends have emerged as a gay movie staple, second only to gold-hearted drag queens, but Rivenbark's Olivia is just obnoxious, barking her sarcastic lines like an angry pit bull. When she berates Bill for not calling I had hoped his response would be, "I'm sorry, I meant to call but then I remembered I don't like you" (but it isn't). Maybe the doctor would've been better off with some drag queen pals.

Ultimately, "Socket" is brought down by ideas that aren't fully realized in the script and can't be realized with the minuscule budget. Snowy TVs are omnipresent throughout the movie, but their significance is never explained. Does Bill's mere presence affect TV reception? Does he, as suggested by a few "Videodrome"-like scenes, get off on a static-filled TV screen? Did he forget to pay his cable bill? Even loudmouth Olivia doesn't remark on the snowy TV in Bill's living room, as if it's merely an art installation common in L.A. households. Writer-director Sean Abley finds some creative ways to stretch a dollar, but by the fourth rapid-cut, seizure-inducing montage – used to illustrate characters dosing on electricity – I was wishing Abley had rustled up some additional funds for F/X before going into production. But I kind of enjoyed this attempt at a gay-themed erotic horror movie, despite its underdeveloped script, lackluster performances and bargain-basement production values. Bad as it is, I've seen much worse, and I applaud any gay filmmaker who tries something other than the usual coming out stories and campy romantic comedies. Also, did I mention Long and Montgomery look good naked?

Sean Abley's film "Socket" fails in every respect; the story is flat, pointless, and uninteresting, the acting is remarkably unprofessional, the cinematography reflects a frightening absence of creativity (or even competence), and the director reveals that he has no eye for screen presentation. One wonders how it's possible to expend the time, money, and effort required to create a film, and to then turn an apparently blind eye to the final product. The movie is presented as a gay horror film, so we're treated to pointless sex-oriented nudity, which delivers no heat whatsoever. Indeed, one wonders whether director Abley was more concerned about the film's gay/nudity aspect than its horror aspect. Either way, none of it delivers. These characters give gay people a bad name: boring. The DVD offers a "special feature" section wherein the cast and crew discuss the making of the film. It is pathetic to listen to these people discuss their effort as though they had created something worthwhile. Sorry, this film is terrible.

Interesting concept but it falls quickly into the trap of pushing the gay aspect above the actual story and characters right away. This alone dulls the scripts potentinal..mind you the script did need another draft