(Dir. Dan Lantz. US, 2011. 82 mins).

This above average gay movie thriller maintains the creeping tension until the end and creates a satisfyingly original menace for these three city gays who go into the woods…

Dan Lantz’s taught, bloody retribution story has an energy, touch of style and central idea which elevates it above its low-budget video status. It has elements of the classic Western as a trio of travelling friends, each battling his own demons, wander off track and into a small, dusty town where it’s best to keep your head down and your business to yourself. Of course that’s never going to happen, especially with loud, sexed up, trouble making Johnny (Jesse Archer) on hand to grab the local’s attention.

The guys check into a motel and serious, lovelorn Michael and naive rich boy Ted are persuaded by horny Johnny to hit the local, neon-crowned bar, unaware that Johnny has arranged an anonymous hook-up using phone cruising app ‘Bendr’ ( – geddit?). Johnny gets his encounter all right, but it’s not exactly what he was expecting and it turns into one Hell of a night for all three men.

Lantz successfully uses flash-forwards and dream sequences to flag up the movie’s dark and violent conclusion. The big reveal falls nicely between plausibility and fantasy, making it gritty enough to be disturbing and far-out enough to be escapism.

If Archer’s character is better developed below the waist, then Make Me a Supermodel’s Ronnie Kroell does fine as emotionally wrecked Michael. Pornster Jake Steel’s famous tool also makes a brief appearance in a fun petrol station sequence.

Into The Lion’s Den is now available on DVD in the US.