Socket

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.

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

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?

If your expectations are so low that nudity in a non-adult film is sufficient to get you to watch a movie, particularly given how easy it is to find nudity and near nudity on line without going to an adult site, then this is probably the movie for you. If you expect good technical production values, an excellent and plausible story, good direction and acting, then you want to avoid this film. It does feature a unique element in the plot - at least for a gay theme indie film, and the director did do a little more with the low budget than some other films out in the past five years have accomplished. However, this is another case where a first time director, working from his own plot, is felled (and his projects fails miserably) because there is no director to call the writer on the weakness of his plot, or no writer to argue with the director about where the move is being moved or pushed away from the script -- or simply to toss ideas around with.

The performances aren't horrible, but the two leads are not as charismatic, particularly Montgomery, to get the plot from point A to point B as per the story, and the movie finally fails on the weakness in the plot, particularly towards the end of the film.

Dr. Bill Matthews (Derek Long) is hit by lightning. He survives and intern Craig Murphy (Matthew Montgomery) gets him to join a group of people who were also struck by lightning. They all felt terrible--till they find that a jolt of electricity weekly makes them feel great. Bill and Craig fall in love and everything is fine...but Bill craves more and more electricity and becomes addicted.

It sounds silly and it was for a while. But the good acting and directing kept me in my seat and (as it went on) it started to work on me. The movie slowly gets more and more dark and disturbing leading to a tragic end. I saw this on LOGO so if there was any explicit sex or nudity it was cut out (Montgomery bares his butt once and that's about it) but the gore was kept in and it WAS needed for the story. This is no classic horror movie but Long and Montgomery are likable (and hot guys) and it DOES become very disturbing at the end. Worth a look--especially for gay horror fans. I give it a 6.