I honestly think this might be the first time I’ve actually enjoyed a proper horror BL. I’ve checked out a few others in the past, but they usually felt a bit unpolished or amateurish—I can’t even remember their names, to be honest. This one is definitely a slow-burn rather than a fast-paced romance, tucked away inside a world of supernatural mysteries and fantastic secrets. You can tell the production is high-quality and well-researched; it feels like the creators really pushed themselves to give the audience something fresh. If you’re into BLs mixed with suspense and ghost stories, this is right up your alley. Just a heads-up: it’s a massive time investment. There are 12 episodes, each over 75 minutes, and the finale is basically a two-hour movie. The story follows Khem, a young guy in his twenties whose life is getting harder by the second because of a heavy family curse that lets him see ghosts. There’s this terrifying rule in his family where the boys don’t live past age 20, so hi...
Another one in the category of 'I have seen this before but have to watch it again so that I can review it on my blog'. I saw this film about 5 years ago and vaguely remembered liking it. I still loved the movie but having seen a lot more gay films, the perception changes. Had I reviewed this movie 5 years ago, I would have rated it very high but now my expectations are very high , so maybe not that high but this movie was still pretty good.
Tobi and Achim, 2 teenage boys, the pride of the local rowing club, have been the best of friends for years and are convinced that nothing will ever stand in the way of their friendship. They look forward to the upcoming summer camp to win a big tournament in the countryside of Germany. As Achim's relationship with his girlfriend Sandra, who's also on the team, grows more and more serious, Tobi starts to realize that his feelings for Achim run much deeper than he's willing to admit to himself. He feels confused, unsure of himself. When Sandra's best friend Anke shows her interest in him, his anxiety starts to grow. When it turns out that the much-anticipated Berlin girls' team has been replaced by a team of athletic, cliché-bursting young gay men, Tobi and his teammates are suddenly forced to grapple with their prejudices, their fears, and, perhaps, their hidden longings. Tobi is intrigued by the queer team specially when it is obvious that one of the members of the team is definitely interested in him. Soon the truth is discovered by all that Tobi is gay and after a lot of internal fighting, Tobi is ready to accept it and come out to everyone. His relief comes when Achim also accepts him the way he is but only needs more time.
There were a few moments in the film that really stood out. Like Tobi trying to really do his best to make Achim fall for him and not trying to understand why can't Achim love him physically when they are such good friends. Achim tries to balance love and friendship but fails. The guy from queer group who makes Tobi realize that he is gay and helps him come out of his shell. The love making scene between the 2 boys is done very tastefully. IN fact overall the film is made with emotions and truly show the struggles of a teenage boy to come out and be socially acceptable.
I would recommend this film for it shows coming-of-age story of teenagers. Eevry gay man at some point can relate to it. (7/10)
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For some reason, on the Internet Movie Database they call it "Hounded".
Quite a lot of people liked it and it won some awards, so my negative feeling toward it is not universally shared (no surprise there, I guess!).