Latin Boys Go to Hell

More of a cult film now. It's more about what could happen, than what did. Well, at least that's how I interpreted it. It's as if a Fellini film was merged with a D horror film. Still, I have watched it more than once.

Lb. are the best

amateur, and the cast isn't that good-looking; but I got sucked in by the title and front cover anyway. Sorry I bought it. Would rather a sweet, gay romance than the violence and craziness of this flix.- Bruce

The acting is horrible, the movie is stupid, and the cinematography looks cheap!!! This is what happens when you buy a DVD just cause the guy on the cover is hot. Avoid this junk at all costs. I would give it zero stars if I could. Absolute TRASH!!!!

good

I recall when this film came to the arthouse film festivals and playhouses--usually $2.00-5.00 ticket depending on the venue. Given mainstream films with gay characters who weren't slashers or psychos were few most LGBT of the day put together their collective pride and went to view even one-star ventures like this hoping a few dollars went into political or community causes plus supporting LGBT artist and creators left outside the mainstream.The acting talent was par for indie film castings of the time period, and the background "popcorn dance" music tracks bring up the dreamy romance soundtracks from the 1950s and 1960s which were engineered to stir up hormones, dreams and desires. It is a film that plays more like a bizarre dream-sequence where crushes collide with danger and reality collides with fantasy. Plus, how could it be a "latin" film without a reference to telenovellas?

Filmed on a shoestring budget throughout New York City, "Latin Boys Go To Hell" is the story of Justin, a young gay Mexican photo assistant (Irwin Ossa) residing in Brooklyn. Justin, who dreams of finding the perfect man hasn't had much looking for the right man at clubs. While there is a hot Latin model (played by the hot Mike Ruiz who appears on the cover) who is trying to get have a quick fling with him, Justin still doesn't know what he is looking for until he discovers the his cousin from Chicago (John Bryant Davila) is moving in for a while. During his stay, Justin begins to develop feelings for his cousin, however his cousin has his eyes set on Andrea (Jenifer Lee Simard).The film, which is a good short film, really doesn't capture the essence that makes many independent films successes at festivals such as Sundance. The quality of the film is really dark, sometimes grainy, and the acting is average. While the cast is pretty good, the standout performance in this film was by Alexis Artiles, who plays the jealous, possessive, crazy boyfriend of Carlos, the hot Latin model who is after Justin. His performance as a "telenovela" (Spanish-language soap operas) addicted boyfriend who revolves his life around the events that occur on "Dos Vidas," a telenovela that he is hooked on.The film, which is unrated, has some pretty strong imagery and scenes that should not be viewed by minors and/or people uncomfortable with gay sexuality, male nudity, and gore. Director Troyano does an okay job of telling this tale of gay Latin males living in the Big Apple, however I don't know why she decided to have this story revolve around a Mexican character living in New York, when in reality the Mexican community in New York is very small when compared to the city's Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Colombian communities.The club scenes don't appear that authentic, and it looks like most of the scenes where filmed at such night clubs as Krash and La Nueva Escuelita during the day. The film has elements of Pedro Almodovar's style, however due to its limited budget, the film's quality loses the elements that made Almodovar's films unique (e.g., color, sound, music, designs, etc..). Overall, I give this film three stars due to my respect for independent filmmakers and especially for the burgeoning Latin boom in recent films.

For whatever reason, I didn't expect much from this movie.. but I got sucked in anyway.. It's a little campy and over the top at times, but suspenseful and gripping as well.. Kind of like those Telenovelas (Latin American soap operas) that are all over this film (maybe not quite as over the top, but if you watch, you can see the parallel)...That's another thing.. I love the symbolism they use...which is so bold, I can't help but love the drama of it all.... That and the attractive cast certainly doesn't hurt either....It's not a provocative, challenging film by any means (who says it has to be anyway?), but it's a very entertaining, dare I say tantalizing gay indie film....I guess I'm a sucker for this sort of thing....

Low budget is one thing, but I have truly seen home movies made with hand-held camcorders that looked better than this film. It is so dark and grainy that it's at times difficult to see what's going on. I had to turn the sound way up to even understand what was being said.Other than that, a few good-looking, young Mexican men stumble through this awkward, melodramatic soap-opera ditty, never really touching on anything that rings true. It's neither moving, nor funny (though it tries at both). Banality would have been refreshing in comparison.If someone lends this to you, you might want to take a look at Mike Ruiz and Irwin Ossa. Then again, why not just look at pictures of them in the internet; it would be infinitely more satisfying.

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