Steam is a short fifteen minute gay horror film. It isn't the kind of film that appeals to me, but it also isn't the kind of film that was designed with me in mind. What I'm not going to do is criticise this for its content, but I will say that I really hoped the gay to horror balance would be more 50/50 than it actually was. This was directed by Joao Dall'Stella who stated he wanted Steam to be "a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community" that he himself is part of.
Gay couple Thomas (Steven Eich) and Juan (Andrew DiConcetto) gone to a bathhouse for a 'cheat night'. While Juan is much more into the experience (it was his idea after all), Thomas seems like a fish out of water, something the receptionist (Trent Walker) easily picks up on. His awkwardness turns to horror when he discovers hidden within the steam there is a killer on the prowl.
What attracted me to this film was the idea of a killer whose actions are being covered up by the steam of the bathhouse. This part of the movie took a good while to get going however with the first ten minutes being about Thomas' bewilderment at the situation he is in. When the horror does start the majority of it is off screen, there is one fun on kill involving a glory hole you do get to see. I felt there could have been a better splitting of time here, I got the deal with Thomas long before this turns to horror and so I didn't see the need to keep following him around with nothing untoward really hinted at. It ended in a way which wasn't totally bad, with the decision to have the killer addressing the camera directly in a fourth wall breaking moment to explain their actions to the viewer.
Obviously there were large elements that were never designed to appeal to me but I would have liked more horror, perhaps an extra on screen death scene. As it was Steam was decent enough, it just wasn't particularly exciting. In celebration of Pride Month this month past, Steam is currently showing on YouTube for free.
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