Quite possibly one of the clumbsiest, meaningless, and inane films of the recent months of independent movie-making, LATIN BOYS GO TO HELL lies somewhere between a gay coming-of-age drama and a cheesy exploitation spoof. It might be faint praise to say that if Ed Wood were to make a "gay" film without wire-strung special-effects, this self-important movie would be it. The story deals with two cousins, Justion and Angel (Irwin Ossa and John Davila), one of whom is a closeted gay with a crush on the other, and how a series of events causes violence. Such images as castration, religious icons, and a tacky Latino soap opera are all intertwined in a vain attempt to give some meaning to the threadbare storyline. While Ossa and Davila show some promise as upcoming actors, Mike Ruiz (as Carlos) is so embarrassingly bad that it destroys whatever pitiful potential the film has in reaching audience approval. Troyano, a director of previous short films, seems completely disinterested in either her characters or subject matter; one wonders what her aim was in working with this project at all. Shot on a shoestring budget throughout Queens and the Bronx, the film's technical limitations would have been forgivable had it had a subject matter with heart. Ultimately, LATIN BOYS really has nothing to cheer about -- either in its ambition or execution. MY SCORE: 1
Review of Latin Boys Go to Hell
