King Cobra (2016)- BFI London Film Festival 2016

91min

Genre:       Fact-based, Crime, Drama

Director:    Justin Kelly

Cast:         Garrett Clayton, James Franco, Christian Slater…and more

Writers:     Justin Kelly and D. Madison Savage

-Synopsis-

A handsome teenager’s cross-country casting trip turns into the start of Gay porn superstardom for “Brent Corrigan”, when he moves in with his middle-aged porn producer; but when the relationship turns sour and Brent is left in quagmire, a couple of potential porn partners take drastic action in this sleazy crime drama based on a true story.

‘King Cobra’ is based on a salacious headline-grabbing true story of sleaze and murder, most succinctly told in the non-fiction crime novel ‘Cobra Killer: Gay Porn, Murder, and the Manhunt to Bring the Killers to Justice’ by Andrew E. Stoner and Peter A. Conway, although the film does not officially cite the book as a source. Instead writer/director Justin Kelly crafts a highly stylized, deliberately provocative and darkly comedic version of events.

Having featured on a myriad of obscure American shows and kids’ television, young Garrett Clayton stars as Sean Paul Lockhart aka “Brent Corrigan”; finding new life direction in the arms of low-budget gay porn producer “Stephen” (Christian Slater), who makes him an online star. But as their personal and professional relationship breaks down and “Corrigan” finds himself stuck between a rock and a hard place, he turns to unsavoury characters “Joe” (James Franco) and “Harlow” (Keegan Allen); gay escorts and underground porn stars, whose ambition to make “Corrigan” their cash-cow takes a tragically dark turn.

Whether gay or straight, films about porn (or the “Adult film industry”) tend to either be comedies like ‘Orgazmo’ and ‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’, or dramas about the seedy nature of the business, often biographical and about the early days of the industry like ‘Lovelace’ and ‘Wonderland’. They can also be a bit of both, which is where ‘King Cobra’ sits, and all will inevitably be compared to ‘Boogie Nights’, the ‘Citizen Kane’ of the sub-genre.

Taking place in the mid-part of this century’s first decade and set in the low-budget end of the amateur gay porn scene, a small part of a business which itself is a small element of a now almost mainstream adult industry; ‘King Cobra’ doesn’t really focus on the intricacies of the pornography industry in the context of society, instead this is essentially a rather typical sleazy character drama about exploitation and the tragic coming together of psychologically scarred people… albeit in an unconventional setting for mainstream film.

The film is extremely provocative and features scenes of gay sex throughout, which despite not being overly graphic or featuring full nudity, will still no doubt be highly uncomfortable for mainstream audiences… even in a supposedly more tolerant time. Kelly frames the sex scenes in a raw and realistic manner, unlike the tender and demure way mainstream cinema regularly does, which has already irked some in the LGBT community who understandably guard their perception in the media. But you can hardly complain about ‘King Cobra’  depicting the gay lifestyle as lewd, any more than you would ‘Boogie Nights’ for painting heterosexuals as immoral.

But brazenly sexualised gay themes and general decadence are not what prevents this from being a gripping or memorable experience, that distinction goes to the tone, narrative and the execution of the film. ‘King Cobra’ has an uneven pace and is front-loaded in its narrative; building characters and a story which fizzles out towards the big crime which should be the centrepiece, then casually ends and ignores the events which followed over months in real life.

The film has a distinctly homemade almost lifetime TV movie feel, albeit a highly unconventional and stylized one, complete with neon lighting and obligatory indie movie synth score for effect. And the performances frankly match the atmosphere set, unconvincing and almost unintentionally comical in the moments of attempted pathos and high drama. But the film is just about saved by the unexpected dark humour, particularly involving the dim-witted and self-unaware escort/porn duo played by Franco & Allen; a bizarre relationship of passion and convenience which makes for plenty of farcical humour, but at odds with the real story of two brutal murderers.

Whether you see ‘King Cobra’ as a gripping and darkly comical “warts-and-all” depiction of a little-known social scene and a rarely depicted side of the “gay experience” in film, or a highly stylized exploitation film which takes advantage of an ultimately tragic and disturbing true story; there’s just enough in this brash and unconventional indie to make it bizarrely captivating, but not enough for a perceptive drama or a memorable experience.

The Bottom Line…

A darkly comical and stylistic representation of a salacious headline-grabbing true story, ‘King Cobra’ will no doubt raise eyebrows and pulses for brazenly depicting the darkest recesses of the gay experience in mainstream cinema; but ultimately this is a moderately gripping film, with wafer-thin unsympathetic characters and not enough inventiveness to have a lasting impact.

‘King Cobra’ is out on the 21st of October in the US, with no current UK release date.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Boogie Nights (1997)

A California-kid with a huge gift gets caught up in the world of 70s porn when a self-styled producer makes him a superstar; but the 1980’s bring him crashing back down to earth, as the realities of a seedy business consume him in this dark and playful instant classic from Paul Thomas Anderson.

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore and Burt Reynolds among others.

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