Dir. David Kittredge. US, 2009. 113 min. Cert: 18.

Blending elements of horror, surrealism and sexploitation, this sexy thriller comes across like The Ring meets Boogie Nights and will keep you hooked until the end.

In using the clunky title Pornography: A Thriller the movie sets out its stall from the beginning. In fact, the two words have reverse significance because this is first and foremost a psychological horror film and a gay movie second – it’s a film whose subject and characters happen to be gay while being mainstream in its scope, which is a refreshing approach.

The story covers three specific periods in time, all connected in some way to brief gay porn star Mark Anton. We start in 1995 when Anton has already retired from the business after only a handful of flicks. However everybody’s favourite boy-next-door finds out the past isn’t so easy to leave behind and after agreeing to a one-last-time private shoot for a mysterious client, Anton soon realises the horrifying consequences of his x-rated career on screen.

Cut to L.A. present day and a writer (Matthew Montgomery) stumbles across the legend of Mark Anton’s final show while researching vintage gay porn for his new book. Strange coincidences and increasingly disturbing events conspire to draw Michael and his boyfriend into the unfolding, nightmarish puzzle.

Writter/director David Kittredge clearly knows his genre, especially J-Horror, and this movie has all the stock ingredients, including those ‘why would they go down that dark staircase?’ moments – one particular scene features a character alone in a cell-type room who only begins to get worried after the gnarled, anonymous voice coming out of a speaker turns his questioning more personal.

But there’s some very effective horror tricks in this gay movie and the pacing is spot on. The cast is incredibly appealing and do a great job in building tension. Matthew Montgomery lends class as the homo in peril and gives nice contrast to Pete Scherer’s brash gay porn star who gets drawn into the darkness while making an adult movie about Mark Anton.

The film does eventually stumble under the weight of its tangled plot but it’s a thrill ride ’til the end and somewhere in there is a comment about our surveillance porno culture. In fact Pornography: A Thriller doesn’t let the audience off the hook and in a wink to camera, casts its net beyond the screen.

Pornography: A Thriller is available on DVD now.