Of late, young usually handsome men have been diisappearing all over town, all either closet of open gays. Detective Angelo (Oscar Torre) desperately tries to crack what hasn't as of yet even been considered a case, but Angelo has also been turned into an alcoholic by past job-related traumas, so eventually the chief of police (Tony Todd) sees no other way than suspend him from the force. But Angelo keeps investigating on his own, pulling many a favour ...

Ed (Gary Brunner) likes to cruise around town picking up hot young guys who either need a place to stay or want to party, then ties them to his bed, rapes and ultimately kills them, then he skins their heads to wear their faces over his own and keeps other bodyparts as well. He's slick enough doing so to leave no traces leading to him, and the police simply don't take all the disappearences seriously enough to properly investigate, figuring this is just a case of gay guys skipping town for a more supportive enviroment. Then though, the chief of police''s own son (Vincent Banks) becomes Ed's latest victim ...

Forin Nemec can be seen as a cocky FBI agent in this one, Michael Paré plays a convict questioned by Angelo, and Eileen Dietz plays Ed's gay-hating mother.

Now on the surface, this might sound like a routine thriller, but it's really mofe of a multi-faceted exploration of self hatred that just uses thriller tropes plus some pretty graphic horror imagery to brng its point across, which works nicely thanks to a clever script. And a directorial effort heavy on atmosphere and a very solid cast only help to make this one into a pretty cool, intelligent piece of genre entertainment.

... and if this has at all gotten you interested, Hate Thyself premieres on  bloodstreamtv.com September 1st, 2026.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned)

The links below will take you just there!!!

Find Hate Thyself at the amazons ...   amazon.com   amazon.co.uk   amazon.de Looking for imports? Find Hate Thyself here ...   eThaiCD.com Your shop for all things Thai

Thanks for watching !!!