While Brent Hartinger’s Judas Kiss review at AfterElton.com found much to praise, the reviewer found fault with significant “script problems.” But the site’s pop culture critic, Ed Kennedy, publicly disagreed with his colleague, calling it a ‘feel good movie’ with an intriguing story.

UPDATE The AfterElton debate over Judas Kiss has spread to scifi website Airlock Alpha. READ MORE »

SPOILER ALERT!
You should know that Hartinger’s review includes a large number of spoilers, so beware! That said:
READ THE REVIEW AND COMMENTS »

SPOILER-FREE SUMMARY Hartinger believes the story’s “magical realism” should’ve established firmer rules, and that the film suffered from soap-operatic elements. What he liked: It was “earnest and well-intentioned, and surprisingly well-shot … for such a micro-budgeted film. There’s even a touch of CGI, which looks great.” He also singled out the performances of Richard Harmon and Brent Corrigan:

“The film includes a terrific break-out performance by Harmon, who happens to also currently be displaying his pitch-perfect ‘sullen, angry teen’ act in the new AMC series The Killing (watch it! It’s good), … [and] an appealing, open-faced supporting performance by porn star Brent Corrigan acting under his real name, Sean Paul Lockhart.”

Hartinger winds up the review saying, “Judas Kiss is flawed but its heart is in the right place. And I admit I’m openly tickled that gay cinema is finally going places, like magical realism, where few have thought to take it before.”

THINK WHAT YOU WILL about Hartinger’s review, but the fun part is going on in the review’s comment section, where Kennedy, author of AfterElton’s popular daily column “Morning Meme,” said he viewed the film differently, and that his enjoyment of Judas Kiss was something rare for gay cinema. He added:

Something else a little unusual — while yes, there’s some sex … it doesn’t rely on titillation to make the appeal. There are small moments between characters to draw you in, and at no point did I find myself wishing they’d just get naked to wake me up. I was happy with the film as it was.

I do recommend the film, and think you should see it if you get the chance. It was beautifully shot, the young actors really showed themselves as being talented performers. There’s substance here, and that’s hard to come by without tragedy.

Visit AfterElton, read the review and weigh in on the debate, where other readers take issue with Hartinger’s analysis.

READ THE REVIEW AND COMMENTS »

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