This Todd Verow film involves a dangerous love triangle on a quiet mountain. Differing perspectives offer viewers a sometimes-disturbing experience.
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Prolific filmmaker Todd Verow (Bad Boy Street) directed this twisted thriller, based on actual events. He co-wrote the screenplay with one of his co-stars, Brad Hallowell. Jay (Verow) visits a gay bar on a slow night and chats up the handsome bartender Rick (Hallowell). Jay mentions that the cute blonde Mike (Brett Faulkner) is his boyfriend. The three men get along immediately, partially because Rick agrees to sell them drugs.
Jay soon invites Rick to join them at a cabin on Tumbledown Mountain, and to bring more drugs. Rick eventually gives in, but his attraction to Mike quickly brings more than one kind of tension to the weekend. Drugs, alcohol, and desire mix in varying degrees for each man.
Despite some light or romantic moments, this film often becomes explicit and disturbing. Mike’s second visit to the mountain turns darker, to say the least, and the different characters see the events in different ways. In fact, the movie basically restarts twice, shifting the point of view. Instead of repeating the same events exactly, the narratives contradict, overlap, or fill in gaps.
Verow sometimes lingers too long on scenes of driving. However, his beautiful depictions of the local landscape provide a striking contrast to the film’s more sinister moments. Of course, the camera mostly focuses on the three men.
Verow gives a sometimes charming and sometimes creepy performance as Jay, while the other two actors let their characters reveal sides that Jay fails to see. It all works together to form an unpredictable tale.
The DVD includes deleted scenes, as well as an alternate ending. I actually prefer the alternate ending and think it ties the film together better, without wrapping everything up too neatly. Then again, choosing one ending over another seems as natural as choosing which of the film’s three perspectives to believe.
Thanks for visiting my blog! Please read about The Acorn Stories. “A lush tangle of small-town life branches out in this engrossing collection of short stories.” -Kirkus Reviews.
