Ladybug
Painter Grayson (Anthony Del Negro) retreats to an isolated cabin he’s inherited to get over a bad breakup and work on a new set of pictures demanded by his pushy, devoted agent Wendy (Scout Taylor-Compton). Because the place is a mess, he calls for a handyman and admits he imagines he’s in a porno when buff, sensitive Sawyer (Zachary Roozen) turns up and can talk about Matisse while also fixing his toilet and looking like the ideal model for his next $100,000 male nude. However, tilted camera angles, thrumming music and a few doesn’t-add-up circumstances – Sawyer doesn’t know a local hardware store closed down fifteen years ago and isn’t familiar with mobile phone dating apps – suggest that this apparent gay romance will turn into something more sinister … and, indeed, the plot stretches to ghosts, a serial killer (Cory Hart), a shovel murder, possession, and some murky business about the transformative power of art.
Co-written by star Del Negro and director Tim Cruz, this is a bit of a slow burn and depends a lot on Del Negro and Roozen playing off each other in a kind of scary, smothering flirtation we’re sure will lead both characters into dark places. It has more than a few ludicrous elements – Grayson works on paintings while dressed in blinding white ensembles and gets nary a splotch on them, and the plot depends on characters infuriatingly not asking or answering simple questions. A couple of smart elements are also kind of creepy – both main characters are gay men so obsessed with their own woes that they casually throw women who love them under plot buses without a second thought. With cameos from Charlene Tilton (Dallas) and Nancy Stephens (Halloween).
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