freakboy on film: SEX DEMON (AND OTHER HAUNTINGS)

This is not Pornhub, despite having blogged about puppet porn, song & dance porn and Ed Wood porn.  However, I haven’t blogged about queer horror porn.  No, WIDOW BLUE (1970) doesn’t count because it’s like 1% queer sex and 99% hetero-centric boinking between the bloodshed.  Even with that unbalanced example, I was surprised 1970’s queer horror porn was even a thing. 

I found the AGFA (American Genre Film Archive) blu-ray of SEX DEMON (AND OTHER HAUNTINGS) some time ago at Vinegar Syndrome’s scintillating sister site Mélusine.  Much like so many other filmic purchases, I experienced the craziness and decided to wait for the perfect time to blog about what I’ll never unsee.  Well, if Pride Month isn’t the perfect time to blog about a queer horror porn triple feature, when is?  Ok, maybe Halloween, but I’m in the mood now, so I am not waiting for October. 

SEX DEMON (1975) 
written & directed by J.C. Crickett 

John gives Jimmy a gaudy medallion for their second anniversary and all gay hell breaks loose!  Jimmy develops a voracious appetite for raw meat from the fridge and seriously rough sex with strangers.  Little does John and Jimmy know, the medallion is cursed.  Will John be able to save his partner with an exorcism or will Jimmy continue his sex-murder spree?  

Just don’t serve him pea soup!

What if Andy Milligan made gay porn?  The answer would look a lot like this memorable piece of less-than-sexy ‘70’s queer horror.  Ferocious, violent and completely manic, with a mix of low-key and histrionic performances, SEX DEMON is only for the most daring of horror film lovers.  I enjoy the frenzied, low-budget Andy Milligan-esque energy, but the rough sex can be rough to watch, unless you’re into certain kinks. 

DEADLY BLOWS (1971) 
directed by Nicholas Grippo (as Max Blue) 

An unnamed man lives alone in a secluded area.  Surrounded by nature, he speaks of loneliness, but also tries to turn away anyone who stumbles into his withdrawn world.  Maybe he is trying to spare them because after making love with his unsuspecting male visitors, he brutally kills them through strangulation or a deadly blow from a hammer.  He doesn’t know why he murders his lovers, he just does.  Then his outwardly simple life becomes complicated when a roommate of one of his victims shows up at his door.  Will the man continue his love-kill cycle or will the stranger figure out what happened to his roommate before it’s too late? 

Is that a hammer in your hand or are you just happy to see me?

Deliberately paced, with a methodically level tone, this feels like the antithesis of SEX DEMON.  The only jarring energy comes from the surreal opening and closing scenes of a shrill scream and a murder the main character either witnessed or committed.  There is no dialogue throughout the film, just a voiceover as the man narrates his own story, seemingly emphasizing his loneliness.  I like the melancholic atmosphere because it gives a sense of realism to DEADLY BLOWS, which, by the way, is a brilliant title for queer horror porn.   

10:30 P.M. MONDAY (1970) 
directed by Lucas Severin 

A man, who seems to be dissatisfied with his sex life, receives a sketchy message in the mail.  All it says is the title of the film.  He initially puts it aside, but as 10:30 P.M. MONDAY draws closer, his curiosity grows.  A fancy black car appears and takes him on a phantasmagorical sex odyssey.  The man enters a building with areas marked as Bar, Toilet, Bath, Beach and Orgy Room, which actually seems to be every room.  (SPOILER ALERT)  By the end, the man is suddenly back in his home, holding the cryptic message.  Did he experience these hardcore events or was it all a feverish premonition?  I haven’t a clue. 

Loneliness as an art form.

For only being one hour, this film feels like a painful eternity.  It’s just scene after scene of sex, sometimes extremely rough sex, and the whole thing becomes very boring, very quickly.  Oh, there is occasional artistic flair, but the focus is more on the sex than the plot or  characters.  In other words, I don’t recommend 10:30 P.M. MONDAY. 

In conclusion… 
Two out of three ain’t bad.  However, these films are an important piece of queer history.  While major studios were barely touching upon homosexuality during that time, these adult films and other independently produced cinematic excursions, were able to more fully explore the voices in the LGBTQ+ community.  Also, it’s great to see queer representation in horror, a genre infamously known for ignoring us.  So, if you’re an adult and you don’t have a hang-up about seeing very real sex, SEX DEMON (AND OTHER HAUNTINGS) may be the blu-ray for your Pride Month collection! 🏳️‍🌈

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S. Speaking of Queer Horror Porn… 😏⤵️ 

STURGEONS (the complete audiobook)

Just in time for Pride Month!

🏳️‍🌈

My queer take on 1950’s sci-fi/horror and its emotionally cataclysmic aftermath is now an Audible audiobook! 

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Yes, STURGEONS (the complete serials) is still available as an ebook, paperback and hardcover from an Amazon near you!

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P.S. Don’t forget to check out my other audiobooks…

freakboy on film: GAY USA (1977)

It’s 🏳️‍🌈Pride Month🏳️‍🌈 in the year 2025 and it feels radically important to acknowledge this time.  To honor those who came before us.  To celebrate how far we’ve come.  To continue to strive for a better tomorrow. 

GAY USA is a remarkable documentary from 1977 directed by queer filmmaker Arthur J. Bressan Jr.  The footage was shot by multiple camera operators on one day, focusing on Gay Pride Parades occurring in various cities across the United States.  It’s a snapshot, a home movie, a visual scrapbook of the early days of Gay Liberation and Gay Rights. 

The film is populated by a wide array of individuals and viewpoints.  Interviews on the streets of these parades show that the LGBTQ+ community has always been as diverse and complex as the hetero-centric crowd.  The only difference between us and them is we’ve had the ultra-conservative gospel-mongers lecherously peering through our bedroom windows and pointing a self-righteous, hypocritical finger at us.  They should be using their right-wing pervy peepers to take a long, hard look at their own tarnished reflections in their Holier-Than-Thou purity mirrors before condemning others.  

Yes, even the Bible Belt-whackers get to speak their ignorant minds in this documentary.  Thankfully, the majority of GAY USA is focused on celebrating gay people as ultimately extraordinarily ordinary folk just being their best queer selves, despite the suffocating disease of hate festering and spreading through society thanks to politics and religion. 

All that being said, I do have to add a couple of personal thoughts.  My least favorite part involves a guy at a parade dressed as Santa Claus.  He gave off some severely creepy vibes and I wonder why his interview wasn’t relegated to the cutting room floor.  My favorite part is when a lesbian recites a poem about how straights want gays to not be so blatant, even as straights blatantly flaunt their sexuality all over the place.  Her words ring so strong and true, they make me raise a fist and shout, “Right on!” 

In conclusion…
I feel GAY USA is a powerful look at a community combating prejudice by finding solidarity in voice and spirit.  Even if that solidarity has splintered in this politically-charged day and age, it only proves we are as tragically human as heterosexuals.  So, if you want to start your Pride Month celebrations with 1970’s retro flair, GAY USA may be the documentary for you!

SIDE NOTE: You can currently find GAY USA on You Tube.

Freak Out…
and Be Blatant!
JLH 

P.S. Pride Month is a perfect time to read a queer book or two…
🏳️‍🌈
📚 

DARK EXCURSIONS (the audiobook series)

Why haven’t you experienced…

? 

Are you hesitant to get swept up in the romance between the one-armed gardener and the former stable boy? 
🌹 
Are you afraid you’ll see yourself in the manipulative matriarch and feel proud? 
🩸 
Are you worried you’ll get turned on as the Russian tennis instructor smacks his balls around the court? 
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Are you skittish to discover what wretchedly ugly thing is buried beneath the beautiful hollyhock garden? 
🪦 

Cast aside all fears and experience the DARK EXCURSIONS series as  4 audiobooks from Audible! 

👉Click to listen👈

👉Click to listen👈

👉Click to listen👈

👉Click to listen👈

Yes, you can still experience DARK EXCURSIONS as an ebook series or a 4-in-1 paperback at an Amazon near you! 

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VISION BENT (half-blind poems) is also available as an Audible audiobook! 

👉Click to listen👈

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P.S.  “Hhhmmm..." 🤔 
An audiobook outtake from editing DARK EXCURSIONS: first set… 
🤣

Caturday Vibes!

That’ll do, X-Ray.

That’ll do. 

😼

👉 viewAuthor.at/JohnLHarmon👈 

freakboy on film: A NEW HOPE (1977)

Not so long ago, in posts not too far away… 

I blogged about the Sequel Trilogy and the Prequel Trilogy of the STAR WARS franchise.  Now, here we are with the first film in the coveted Original Trilogy. 

I was extremely young when STAR WARS exploded onto the pop culture landscape and going to the theater with my sister Margaret may be one of my earliest memories.  I wish I could say it was a thrilling experience that forever altered my life, but we both fell asleep during it.  I remember the opening scroll and the Imperial Star Destroyer gunning for Princess Leia’s ship.  I also remember C-3PO and R2-D2 escaping in an escape pod.  Then I remember waking up to see the planet Alderaan being obliterated by the Death Star, or it could have been (SPOILER ALERT) the Death Star being obliterated by Luke Skywalker.  I can’t say for certain.  Then I remember the medal ceremony for the heroes and waking up my sister to tell her it was over.  If I’m brutally honest, I caught the important stuff during that first go around.  I would later see it at the local drive-in without falling asleep, but it’s that first viewing, or lack thereof,  that sticks in my memory. 

Ultimately, STAR WARS Episode IV: A NEW HOPE and the other two episodes of the Original Trilogy became a gigantic part of my childhood.  I thrilled as Luke Skywalker is swept away from his desert planet farm boy life and hurled into the middle of a war between the all-powerful Empire and a scrappy, ragtag rebellion.  You know the story.  If you don’t, what rock have you been living under for the last several decades?  

Princess Leia Organa, a badass rebel and fashion icon, trusts the unlikeliest of duos with some super important information that could put an end to the tyrannical reign of the Empire.  Either through the power of the Force or a plot filled with happenstance, droid soulmates C-3PO and R2-D2 become friends with Luke Skywalker, a moisture farm boy from Tatooine.  Thanks to the droids being hunted by the Empire, Luke loses his family and his home.  Instead of crying around about it, Luke takes off on a space adventure with desert hermit/former Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi.  Together they hope to deliver the super important information to the Rebel Alliance.  To accomplish this mission, they need a spaceship, which they find in a droid-phobic dive bar.  Han Solo, a roguish egotist pilot and his walking carpet sidekick Chewbacca offer passage on board the exceptionally cool Millennium Falcon.  Everyone gets more than they bargained for when they have to also rescue Leia, shut off a tractor beam, and deal with Grand Moff Tarkin and his seemingly second in command/walking fashion statement Darth Vader.  Oh, they also need to take care of that pesky Death Star, a planet destroying battle station.  Will our intrepid heroes save the far, far away galaxy?  If you honestly don’t know, then you’ve been skimming this post.😏 

Trying to race through my ramblings.

The last time I watched A NEW HOPE was a long time ago.  I’m talking before my 2016 chunk of vision loss and before THE FORCE AWAKENS hit theaters.  (My 2023 plan to watch all 3 Trilogies in chronological order stopped after the prequels.)  How did A NEW HOPE hold up after all this time?  I still love writer/director George Lucas’ sci-fi epic, but I wonder if the Prequel and Sequel Trilogies have tarnished the hardcore geek fanboy zeal I used to experience with each viewing.  Don’t get me wrong, I still felt a serious foreshadowing thrill when Obi-Wan (SPOILER ALERT) is obviously fudging the truth about Darth Vader betraying and murdering Luke’s father!  I also can’t help but geek out over the totally super-cool awesomeness of the Millennium Falcon and yes. I may still experience a filmgasm the first time it jumps into hyperspace!  Oh, and there is the lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader!  Forget everything that happens after their confrontation, the film was really just building to that singular moment between frenemies!  Last, but far from least, Princess Leia rocks! 

One thing I found myself appreciating more than I ever did before was the acting.  Obviously, Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin and James Earl Jones as the voice of Darth Vader shine brighter than the twin suns of Tatooine.  However, I was struck by the 1970’s naturalness of Mark Hamil as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Organa and Harrison Ford as Han Solo.  The way they deliver their lines make them seem like ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events.  Of course, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Kenny Baker as R2-D2 and Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca create lovably memorable characters without being seen, while David Prowse intimidates as the man behind the Darth Vader mask.   

Space fashionistas work the Galactic runway!

All that being said, the Dark Side of the Force compels me to mention a couple of things that bothered me this time around…

1… Is C-3PO lying to Luke when he claims he doesn’t really know who Princess Leia is as R2-D2 projects her holographic message to Obi-Wan or did the escape pod scramble his golden circuits?  Earlier in the film, while Leia’s ship is under attack by the Empire, C-3PO turns to R2 and grimly states, “There’ll be no escape for the princess this time.”  C-3PO obviously knows Leia, so why was he feigning ignorance with Luke? 

2… Is Luke Skywalker being an overly judgy Good Jedi Bitch when, after being laughed at by Han Solo over a lightsaber training failure, he turns to the roguish pilot and inquires, “You don’t believe in the Force, do you?”  It’s like, get off your high self-righteous Bantha, farm boy!  You just learned about the Force, like, 10 minutes ago, so just leave a “The Force Is Inside You” pamphlet and move on! 

In conclusion…
Has time or the inferior entries in the franchise diminished my intense love of this film ?  Perhaps the psychosexual rabbit hole Andy Milligan shoved me down has forever transformed my filmic tastes.  Whatever the case, I may no longer be the full-tilt, frenzied STAR WARS geek I once was, but A NEW HOPE is still a thrilling sci-fi adventure worth going on.  Just put away critical thinking and let the Force guide you through one of the best popcorn-infused blockbusters of its kind! 🍿 If possible, skip the not-so “Special Edition” and seek out the original version.   
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This post is for ADVENTURE-A-THON, hosted by Cinematic Catharsis & Realweegiemidget Reviews!  

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Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  My sister Margaret often “played STAR WARS” with me and my action figures.  We rarely followed the plot of A NEW HOPE, and even accidentally predicted a couple of plot twists that would later be revealed in Episodes V and VI.   However, on one occasion, we radically altered the STAR WARS universe when Luke Skywalker literally lost his head during an aggressive lightsaber duel with Darth Vader.  I was very young at the time, but I remember us both laughing at this unexpected event. 

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Click an episode for more…
Episode I 
Episode II 
Episode III 
Episode Vii
Episode VIII 
Episode IX

FLIGHT RISK (a poem)

Here I stand 
In between 
An ending 
A beginning 
If the door closes 
Should I open a window 
Take a leap 
To see if I can soar 
Never mind the height 
Flying at speed  
Ground falling up
A million miles an hour 
Brace for impact 
By letting go 
Of what I cannot see 
What I can’t control 
Only then maybe 
I will find me 
Swirled in a second wind 
Leaving behind 
All that has been 
Embracing all I could be 

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2025, John L. Harmon  

I’ve been writing a little each day this month and FLIGHT RISK is one result of this endeavor. 

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  My 2019 collection of half-blind poems can be found as an audiobook from Audible…