The Year in Gay Movies

Impressively atmospheric and well-executed for indie horror, Cthulhu scored points with us for its unconventional telling of an all-too-familiar plot: A gay man's going home to his homophobic hometown for a family emergency. These situations can be horrific to begin with, but when layered with some seriously fishy religious cult conspiracy, kidnapping and murder, they're the stuff of a deliciously creepy thriller.

Cthuhlu also made a daring move in using the mythology of revered horror writer H.P. Lovecraft as the basis for its story, even though Lovecraft's work had no gay themes of their own. A great fusion of gay film and genre film, a combo that we don't see near enough of.

On the Tenth Day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Ten Tenors Tuning (Hamlet 2)

Back in August the hilariously offensive comedy Hamlet 2 (one of the biggest sales at last year's Sundance) brought gay writer/director Andrew Fleming's (Dick, Threesome) wonderfully warped sense of humor into the halls of a Tucson high school.

As the utterly clueless drama coach bent on mounting a musical sequel to Hamlet featuring Jesus and a time machine, Brit actor Steve Coogan was at his unhinged best. And as the story rolled toward its increasingly preposterous conclusion the jokes came faster and more furious.

At one point, the desperate director casts the Gay Men's Chorus of Tucson to perform as the chorus in the show, and indeed they do ... making the film's climactic performance scene (set to the chorus's soaring rendition of Elton John's "Someone Saved My Life Tonight") one of the most inspired of the year. The film also featured a gay supporting character, a conflicted drama student named Rand.

On the Ninth Day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Nine Indies Underperforming (Ciao, Save Me, Otto or Up with Dead People, No Regret, Cover, Savage Grace, A Jihad for Love, Breakfast With Scot, and The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela)

We mourned earlier this year (and last year) that despite Brokeback Mountain's bona fide box office and critical success, we had yet to see an uptick in gay films either in the mainstream or in indie fare. But when we readdressed the topic earlier this year we took into account the fact that many indies are finding audiences in different ways, either online, on premium cable or on DVD.

Perhaps as a result of these new distribution models, gay indies such as Ciao, Save Me, Otto or Up with Dead People, No Regret, Cover, Savage Grace, A Jihad for Love, Breakfast With Scot, and The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela — all decent-to-solid films — failed to draw much box office, usually because they were limited to one or two theaters before they were released on DVD or on-demand.

On the one hand, these new distribution channels mean that people who don't have ready access to gay-friendly theaters have a chance to see these movies; on the other hand, it means that the mainstream indie market isn't nearly as gay as it used to be. We'll have to see how things play out.