FILM: HELLBENT Dir: Paul Etheredge-Outz COME AWAY WITH ME Dir: Carlo Ventura DAWSON Dir: Claude Wampler SUPERGLUE supergluethemovie.com, FLOORED AND LIFTED flooredandlifted.com TELEVISION: JAG Guest Star CBS, WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU Guest Star WB, PASSIONS Series Regular NBC, THEATRE: COMEDY OF ERRORS Antipholus Open Fist Theatre, CYRANO DE BERGERAC Christian Barrington Stage Co. Berkshires, OFF THE WALL: EXPOSE Jagger, Andy Warhol Museum Pittsburgh, REFUGE Sam Nicu’s Spoon, 29th Street Rep., SIX CHARACTERS… Son Quantum Theatre Pittsburgh, RED NOSES Brodin Chosky Theatre Carnegie Mellon, SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER Dr. Sugar Rauh Theatre Carnegie Mellon, FREEDOM OF THE CITY Michael San Jose Stage TMITC, RAGING HORMONES Shawn New Conservatory Theatre, TRAINING: Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama Bachelor of Fine Arts Acting, SITI Company Skidmore Intensive – Suzuki and Viewpoints, Lesly Kahn – Classes and Coaching, Caryn West and Jessica Kubzansky – Scene Study, Jonathan Slavin and Sara Mornell – Ongoing Classes and Coaching, REPRESENTATION: Becca Kovacik – The Hofflund Co. (310) 859-1971 and Innovative Artists (310) 656-0400/(212) 253-6900 Hellbent review: A Night of Halloween Horror By Lauren Kern New York Times Published: September 16, 2005 Straightforward, washed out in appearance and refreshingly absent of cellphones or other evidence of technological advances that have inevitably become a major presence in contemporary films, Paul Etheredge-Ouzts's "Hellbent" could pass for a low-budget horror movie of 25 years ago. This amusing chiller, which may just be the first entry in the gay slasher genre, begins and ends teasingly with interrupted steamy presex scenes that border on soft-core pornography, and effectively toys with the audience at a consistent pace in between. Out for a night of Halloween fun, four hunky friends (who are also roommates) and one newly acquired love interest instead become the prey of a towering and totally buff masked killer, a cross between Batman and the grim reaper, who with a menacing scythelike knife, slices his victims' heads cleanly off and keeps them as souvenirs. All evening, he stalks the guys from one effective location to the next: an outdoor cruising park, a gay club called Meat and the streets of West Hollywood, where the extravagant, densely populated annual Street Carnival takes place - and any random psycho can blend in - picking them off whenever the chance arises. Because more time is dedicated to crafting authentic, sympathetic characters than the average horror movie, it's easier to overlook the film's often-corny dialogue and so-so special effects. It also makes it more disheartening to witness their gruesome demises. One death in particular is so tragic, not so much in the way he goes, but in the triumphant event that occurs directly before his life is taken away. Ultimately, it's this emotional attachment, in addition to a few nifty touches involving a strobe light and an eyeball, as well as a tension-filled climax, that make the film compulsively watchable. The killer's motivations are never revealed, a choice that in comparison to other recent horror films is a smart one. Force-feeding audiences with convoluted explanations and final-seconds plot twists (which prove ruinous in most movies, especially this year's "High Tension") is in all instances far worse than supplying no resolution at all. In other words, the greatest asset of "Hellbent" is that it never tries to be anything that it's not: it doesn't pretend to be particularly clever, attempt to bend the basic horror-movie conventions, and just keeps it plain and simple, providing gratifying entertainment for its target gore-seeking audience, and widens the scope a bit by bringing gay cinema one step closer to the mainstream. Hellbent Opens today nationwide. Written and directed by Paul Etheredge-Ouzts; director of photography, Mark Mervis; edited by Stephen Dyson; production designer, Matthew Flood Ferguson; produced by Steven J. Wolfe and Josh Silver; released by Regent Releasing/Here! Films. Running time: 85 minutes. This film is not rated. WITH: Dylan Fergus (Eddie), Bryan Kirkwood (Jake), Hank Harris (Joey), Andrew Levitas (Chaz), Matt Phillips (Tobey) and Nick Name (himself).