THRILL ME with a SINGLE WHITE MALE who’s not CRACKED or a SEXUAL SUSPECT

By Josh Eliot

It’s Halloween month again so, as usual, I’m writing something appropriate for the upcoming All Hallows Eve. Excuse the gratuitous title, which features four of my full features for Catalina Video that were a product of my love for horror movies. The first was Single White Male (1992), then Sexual Suspect (1996), Thrill Me! (1999) and finally Cracked! made in (2001). The first three were all-male features, while Cracked! was a bisexual movie that garnered Sharon Kane Best Actress in a non-sexual role gay or bi in 2002. I have to say, getting the adult stars to step out of their comfort zone from being sexy to being scared, scary, crazy or vulnerable was easier than I thought it would be. On any one of those movies, if the lead player or supporting cast gave a stiff, lifeless performance, the movie would have been a joke and, more importantly, I’m sure Catalina would not have let me venture into the thriller zone ever again. Single White Male set the bar high, really high, mostly due to Rob Cryston’s incredible performance. Each of these movies garnered nominations and awards but I’m not going to talk about the movies, themselves, as I’ve gone into detail on each and every one in previous blogs. I’m going to talk about one or more specific actors in each movie that really pulled out a fantastic, mainstream-worthy performance.

Single White Male starred Rob Cryston as Alex, a male version of Glenn Close’s “Alex” in Fatal Attraction, with a little bit of Jennifer Jason Leigh’s quirks from her performance in Single White Female (1992). Rob’s first movie, from the best I can tell, was Big Drill (CDI Home Video) in 1988, then another in 1991 called Video Head (All Worlds). He came to my attention when I cast him in Down Bi Law in a supporting role opposite Randy Mixer. I spoke with him after the shooting about a role I wanted him to play, explaining it was one so intricate it could really get his career going full force. He gave me his full commitment that day and brought his “A” game to the set, sometimes surprising me when he would split his personality into two very different people in the scope of presenting his lines. In particular, there is a scene where Alex sees his roommate’s visiting cousin seducing the pool man, whom Alex was obsessed with, by jumping in the pool naked and stroking the pool skimmer pole. There’s a take we shot that was completely improvised by Rob Cryston where his anger builds and builds and builds until he explodes. I kept the camera rolling as long as he kept building his anger, and in the finished movie I ended up intercutting that long shot so I was able to keep most of it. Rob completely deserves the Best Actor Award he won in 1993 at the Gay Erotic Video Awards for the many layers he brought to Alex. I am convinced that without the performance given by Rob Cryston in Single White Male, it would not have been remotely as frightening and sexy as it is. Huge shout out to Brian Hart who played the victim of Alex’s obsession. I’ve worked with Brian on movies like Head of the Class 2 (Scott Masters) and Long Distance Lovers (Chi Chi LaRue) and, let me tell you, his dialogue was stiff and uninspired. In Single White Male, working with Rob in most of his scenes, Brian was able to pull out a great performance filled with anger, fear and revenge. My top two guys who made it all work and set me on the path to make more horror porno movies that felt real!

Sexual Suspect was shot four years later and was based on the French movie Diabolique (1955). I was currently casting the movie but still did not have the lead performer in mind. I needed someone to play a jealous and conspiring lover who could take on the task of being a mean drunk as well as a persuading hustler trying to get every penny out of his current lover. I was hanging out in the Gold Coast Bar one night with friends when Eric Marx (aka Dex Weston from Major Owens, Bijou Video) was introduced to me. I was impressed by his 1970’s mustached look and demeanor, as he had a slight edge to him that made me feel a little nervous. I was not familiar with the fact that he had been working in movies for the past couple of years. Because of that gut feeling, I started talking to him about the role I was looking to cast. A few kamikaze shots later, I was convinced and committed to book him for the role. Weeks later, up in Arrowhead Lake at a rented lakefront home, we started filming his scenes. Funny thing, I wasn’t that thrilled at first with Cory Miles, who was cast to play his rich lover, but once he read a line or two on camera, I was sold. I had two leads who could act their face off! I was quite relieved, because I wasn’t supposed to be shooting the “horror” movie at all - my producer thought I was shooting something completely different in Arrowhead, a jock themed movie. I was relieved because when I had the film in the can, as they say, I knew I wouldn’t get into too much trouble, since this movie was solid! Eric was sinister as the belligerent drunk who smacks his lover across the face, just after saying, “I will never put my hands on you again… promise.” Cory Miles portrayed simultaneous hatred and fear of his lover, which came through in every scene and elevated this movie 100%.

Thrill Me was shot two years after Sexual Suspect and brings the best of comedy, sexiness and horror all wrapped into one fan-fucking-tastic movie, in my opinion. Shot in Saugatuck, Michigan on the coast of one of the Great Lakes, I have to credit absolutely everyone in this movie for raising their acting game. There is one standout though: Doug Jeffries. In the movie, there is a group of friends who reunite after being apart for years, only to receive a letter taped to the door stating, “I saw what you did, and I know who you are.” (The title of a Joan Crawford movie, by the way.) The group immediately goes into panic mode, discussing the unintentional manslaughter of a drifter (played by Donnie Russo) years earlier. Doug Jeffreys, who is the lover of one of the group’s members, overhears the conversation and all hell breaks loose now that the cat is out of the bag. Doug, who is normally very masculine in real life and on screen, took the risk and ran with it adding just enough camp into his character without looking nelly. Steve Rambo and Ray Harley also came out of their “wooden” shells with dialogue and each turned in one of, if not the best, performances of their careers. I was very lucky to have models who would trust the vision I was putting forward and would go along for the ride with no restrictions.

Cracked is a different situation entirely. You see, when Sharon Kane is cast in anything, the movie is elevated and transcends, right there on the set, into something more than it would have been otherwise. Sharon played Joan, based basically on Mommy Dearest and Straight Jacket’s Joan Crawford, again. Joan is off her rocker from the very opening shot, as she fakes a broken ankle to trick her daughter-in-law to come stay with her while she mourns her son's death. Joan wants her pesky daughter-in-law dead and out of the picture so she doesn’t get her hands on the money Joan’s son left behind. I was really lucky to get straight porn icon Herschel Savage in the movie cast opposite Sharon Kane as her lawyer. The two of them combined have worked in well over a 1000 porn movies over the years; Sharon states she did over 900 on her own. They both brought years of experience to the roles, which legitimized this ax-murdering, ass-fucking thriller. Nadia, another straight porn icon, was fantastic as the daughter-in-law's friend who finds herself on the other end of Joan’s ax. Nicole Moore plays the daughter-in-law who refuses to take the shit Joan is dishing out, and the two of them together on screen form a perfect collaboration, because Nicole’s strength and desire for all that money allows her to give it to Joan in the end!

A little taste of terror for your Halloween month - may the psycho, slashing, sexpots be with you! Check out the trailers for each and watch the full PG versions of them on my YouTube Channel!

Bio of Josh Eliot:

At the age of 25 in 1987, Josh Eliot was hired by Catalina Video by John Travis (Brentwood Video) and Scott Masters (Nova Video). Travis trained Eliot on his style of videography and mentored him on the art of directing. Josh directed his first movie, Runaways, in 1987. By 2009 when Josh parted ways with Catalina Video, he'd produced and directed hundreds of features and won numerous awards for Best Screenplay, Videography, Editing, and Directing. He was entered into the GayVN Hall of fame in 2002.