“Birder” Promises Ample Hookups, Nudity And… Murder?! A Queer Film Full Of Dark Erotic Thrills
Released in August of this year, Birder follows a queer birdwatcher who invades a gay nudist camp to entice lovers into his web of dark, erotic fantasies. This thrilling LGBTQIA+ film is debuting in Australia at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival and features serene scenes of nature and the wilderness amid the darker themes of sex and consent politics.
“Consent has never been more deadly” – AV Club
Starring Michael Emery as Kristian Brooks, Birder follows one man’s twisted foray into a gay nudist camp. Kristian is a birdwatcher who invades the isolated campgrounds of a New Hampshire retreat where he subsequently lures unsuspecting victims into his dark sexual games. To attract the locals, Kristian dons whatever cover he needs to intrigue and excite them. He is charming and enigmatic and the longer he stays at the nudist camp, the more bodies begin to stack up.
Birder is a film by Nate Dusku, director of Maplethorpe and the brother of scream queen Eliza Dushku. Queer spaces involve a different kind of sex politics; a divergence from the standard practices in place for heteronormative sex. At Lake Lotus, the queer camp Kristian makes his hunting ground, queer men are invited to walk freely amongst one another and explore their deepest sexual fantasies.
This involves couple play, sub/dom relationships and, to the most extreme extent, Kristian’s own sinister fetishes. This sardonic serial killer story plays on the inherent lived horror of queerness and the often-unspoken violence in sex.
Despite being filled with gorgeous scenes of forests, lakes and hunky men playing out sexual fantasies, Birder has a lot to offer to the queer horror genre.
