Sometimes Big Gay Horror Fan wakes up in the middle of the night imagining the tails of spritely fairies are brushing his face. Nope, just those bed bugs, again!

Meanwhile, talented writer-director Jean-Claude Schlim (whose previous work includes producing credits for 2000’s Shadow of the Vampire and 2008’s Vampire Party) actually creates a tragic fairy tale, taking place in 1984 Amsterdam, with his evocative House of Boys.

Chronicling the adventures of teenaged Frank (an engaging Layke Anderson), who finds himself under the care of the appropriately named Madame (sensitively imbibed by cult legend Udo Kier)at the titular palace of flesh filled fantasy, Boys explores the glorious facets of found freedom and self expression shadowed by the ravaging specter of the HIV epidemic.

With introductions to Frank’s family, friends and co-workers resulting in multiple subplots (and a running time of 117 minutes), House of Boys is a bit unwieldy at times, but never less than enjoyable. Schlim is particularly adept at creating a glow of feisty romanticism while simultaneously portraying the horror of the first years of the AIDS crisis. His attention to detail is often brutal during the final weeks of a beloved character’s life and whether because of budget constraints or the cyclical fates of humanity, House of Boys ultimately feels just as contemporary as it does old fashioned.

Because of its inherent creativity, the world of film has lost many its brilliant participants to AIDS. Here is a partial listing of the eclectic genre actors who have died, but whose memories will live on in their glorious, eccentric filmographies.

Merritt Butrick (above) – Fright Night 2, Death Spa, From the Dead of Night, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Ian Charleson – Opera, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan
Brad Davis – Child of Darkness, Child of Light, The Hitchhiker (television)
Denholm Elliot – To the Devil A Daughter, The Vault of Horror, The House that Dripped Blood, Brimstone and Treacle
Leonard Frey – The Fat Black Pussycat, Boys in the Band
Kevin Peter Hall- Predator, Predator 2, Prophecy, Without Warning, One Dark Night, Hell’s Highway
Antony Hamilton – Howling IV: The Original Nightmare, Nocturna
Anthony Holland – The Sentinel, The Hitchhiker (television), The Lonely Lady
Rock Hudson – Embryo, Pretty Maids All in a Row
Tom McBride – Friday the 13th, Part Two

Timothy Patrick Murphy – The Bloody Bushido Blade (http://tpmurphy.tripod.com/id5.html)
David Oliver – The Horror Show, Night of the Creeps
Anthony Perkins – Psycho, In the Deep Woods, Edge of Sanity, Destroyer, How Awful About Allan, Pretty Poison
Dack Rambo – Nightmare Honeymoon, Good Against Evil
Ray Sharkey – Hellhole, Stunts, The Rain Killer, Caged Fear
Tom Villard – Popcorn, Parasite
Theodore Wilson – The Vagrant, Cleopatra Jones, Tales from the Crypt (television)

House of Boys is available from QC Cinema from Breaking Glass Pictures (www.breakingglasspictures.com). You can, also, gain entrance to the House of Boys at http://www.facebook.com/#!/houseofboys.film and www.houseofboysmovie.com.

And until next time, Sweet love and pink Grue, Big Gay Horror Fan!