Out To Run: A Tale of Blood Velvet
2024 · 10m · USA
Directed by James Berry
Genres: action, comedy, horror, LGBTQ+
Tones: dark, humorous, sensual, whimsical
A gay couple's romantic night in is violently interrupted by a group of vampires with an acquired taste for queer blood, leading to a bloody, campy showdown with a twist.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Queer vampires invade gay couple's date night. Proof-of-concept shorts pitching a feature usually read like proof-of-concept shorts pitching a feature, and 'gleeful camp and gore' is doing a lot of marketing work.
Two hundred fifteen thousand views and the cast list (Ryan McCartan, Matt Lauria) flag this as a proof-of-concept rather than a self-contained work — a queer Lost Boys pilot, essentially. Genre fan-service has its place; this is not where I look for curatorial revelation.
Proof-of-concept short with name cast (McCartan, Lauria) and 215K views — the campy gore-romance has clearly landed an audience, but 10 minutes that's pitching for a feature usually shows the seams. Genre-execution short rather than authored object.
Reviews
There's plenty for you to sink your teeth into in this gleefully gory and scrumptiously sexy vampire flick that reinvents classic vampire tropes by adding a camp flourish.
While it may not delve deeply into character arcs or narrative complexity, it more than compensates with its twisted playfulness.
Festivals
- Indie Short Fest 2024