''Kiss Me, Kill Me'' is a 2015 American

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Casper Andreas Casper Andreas (born September 28, 1972) is a Swedish actor, film director, screenwriter, and film producer based in New York City. He is openly gay. Career Andreas was born in Sweden. He made his feature film debut as a director with the r ...

and written by

David Michael Barrett David Michael Barrett (born April 3, 1971) is an American screenwriter and film producer in Los Angeles, California. Best known for his films ''Bad Actress'', ''Such Good People'' and '' Kiss Me, Kill Me'', his play ''Brentwood'' was featured in ...

, who both produced under their banner, Spellbound Productions. The film follows Dusty (

Van Hansis Van Hansis (born Evan Vanfossen Hansis on September 25, 1981) is an American actor. Hansis portrayed the rich Luke Snyder on the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns'' from December 14, 2005 until the show's final episode September 17, 2010. The s ...

) who, while confronting his unfaithful boyfriend, blacks out. When he comes to, his boyfriend Stephen (

Gale Harold Gale Morgan Harold III (born July 10, 1969) is an American actor, known for his leading and recurring roles on '' Queer as Folk'', '' Deadwood'', ''Desperate Housewives'', ''Grey's Anatomy'', ''The Secret Circle'' and '' Defiance''. He also starre ...

) has been murdered, and Dusty is the prime suspect. ''Kiss Me, Kill Me'' had its world premiere on September 18, 2015, at Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival, which featured the film as its Spotlight Selection.

Plot

Stephen Redding is a successful reality television producer with a big house in the hills and a trophy boyfriend, Dusty Young. But at Stephen's birthday party, Dusty discovers he has been having an affair with another man, Craigery. Humiliated, Dusty leaves the party, walks down to a convenience store. Stephen follows; trying to explain the affair is over, but out of nowhere—Dusty sees a flash—and blacks out. When he comes to, Dusty learns Stephen was murdered and he's the prime suspect. LAPD Detectives Annette Riley and Noah Santos question him. But Dusty cannot remember what happened. However, West Hollywood is filled with suspects: an unstable lawyer, a couples’ therapist, a jealous ex, a sketchy best friend, a resentful lesbian couple, and a drag queen hypnotist. With the police closing in, he must remember what happened, put the pieces of the puzzle together, regardless where the truth leads, even if it means he did kill Stephen.

Cast

as Dusty *

as Stephen (credited as Gale M. Harold III) *

Brianna Brown Brianna Lynn Brown (born October 2, 1979) is an American actress and producer. She is known for her television roles as Lisa Niles in the ABC soap opera ''General Hospital'', and as Taylor Stappord in the Lifetime series ''Devious Maids''. ...

as Amanda *

Yolonda Ross Yolonda Ross is an American actress, writer and director. Life and career Ross was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. She began her acting career in New York, appearing in the episodes of television series ''New York Undercover'' and ''Third Wa ...

as Det. Riley *

Craig Robert Young Craig Robert Young (born 4 October 1973) is a British actor who began his acting career at age ten, starring in the stage production of ''The Price of Coal''. By the time he was 17, he moved to London to attend the Central School of Speech and D ...

as Jeffrey *

Jai Rodriguez Jai Rodriguez is an American actor and musician best known as the culture guide on the Bravo network's Emmy-winning American reality television program ''Queer Eye for the Straight Guy''. He has also co-authored a book with the other ''Queer ...

as Det. Santos * Matthew Ludwinski as Craigery *

Kit Williamson Kit Williamson (born November 13, 1985) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for creating, writing, directing, and starring in the dark comedy web series ''EastSiders''. For his work on the series, he has been nominated for several Ind ...

as Travis (also co-producer) * D.J. "Shangela" Pierce as Jasmine * Jackie Monahan as Danielle * Allison Lane as Lori (also co-producer) *

Michael Maize Michael Maize (born Michael Meyer; December 1, 1974) is an American motion picture and television actor, perhaps best known for his role of Daniel in the film '' National Treasure: Book of Secrets''. Biography Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisc ...

as Albert *

Jonathan Lisecki Jonathan Lisecki (born 1976) is an American producer, director, writer and actor. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay for his film ''Gayby''. He is gay and married ''New Yorker'' music critic Alex Ross N ...

as Kevin * Deborah S. Craig as Donna *

as Dr. Winters *

Katie Walder Katie Elizabeth Walder (born October 13, 1982) is an American actress. Career Walder is best known for her recurring roles on ''Gilmore Girls'' as Janet Billings, ''How I Met Your Mother'' as Shannon, and ''Mad Men'' as Sherry. She has appeared i ...

as Susan Lynwood

Casting

Producers

and

cast the film with actors well known to LGBT audiences.

, who plays Stephen, was the star of the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

series '' Queer as Folk''. This film marks the first time he has played a gay character since the series concluded.

, four-time

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nominee from ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...

'' and star of

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

's series ''

EastSiders ''EastSiders'' is an American dark comedy web series created by Kit Williamson. It premiered on YouTube on December 14, 2012, and began streaming through Logo TV's website on April 23, 2013. Set in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, the series follows coupl ...

'', is the film's leading man, Dusty. Many cast members in ''Kiss Me, Kill Me'' also appear in ''Eastsiders'', including

(from ''

Devious Maids ''Devious Maids'' is an American television comedy-drama and mystery series created by Marc Cherry, produced by ABC Studios, and executive produced by Cherry, Sabrina Wind, Eva Longoria, Paul McGuigan, Larry Shuman, David Lonner, John Mass, Pau ...

''),

(Emmy Award-winning star of ''

Queer Eye for the Straight Guy ''Queer Eye'' is an American reality television series that premiered on the cable television network Bravo in July 2003. Originally ''Queer Eye for the Straight Guy'', the title was later shortened to broaden the overall scope. The series was cre ...

''),

(writer-director-actor of ''

Gayby ''Gayby'' is a 2012 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Jonathan Lisecki and starring Jenn Harris, Matthew Wilkas, Mike Doyle, Anna Margaret Hollyman, Jack Ferver and Jonathan Lisecki. It is based on the 2010 short film of the same ...

'') and

, a co-producer on the film, who created ''Eastsiders''. Drag queen

Shangela Chantize Darius Jeremy Pierce, better known as Shangela Laquifa Wadley or mononymously as Shangela (born November 22, 1980), is an American drag queen, reality television personality and actor best known for competing on ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. S ...

(D.J. Pierce), known for ''

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, VH1 (season 9–14) and, beginning with the f ...

'', plays hypnotist Jasmine. Both Matthew Ludwinski and Allison Lane previously worked with Andreas, appearing in his film ''

Going Down in LA-LA Land ''Going Down in LA-LA Land'' is a 2011 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Swedish filmmaker Casper Andreas and based on the novel by Andy Zeffer. It was released in New York City on April 20, 2012, and in Los Angeles on May 18, 201 ...

'', and Deborah S. Craig appeared in Barrett's film ''

Bad Actress ''Bad Actress'' is a 2011 American independent feature film, directed by Robert Lee King, written by David Michael Barrett, produced by Lisa Schahet, and starring Beth Broderick as has-been TV star Alyssa Rampart-Pillage. The picture had its worl ...

''. Notable cameos in the film include

as television news reporter Susan Lynwood, and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

stars Will Shepherd and R.J. Aguiar who appear in the funeral scene. Pop singer SIRPAUL is featured in the nightclub scene singing his single "Kiss Me, Kill Me", and Andreas plays Dr. Winters.

Production

Initial funding for ''Kiss Me, Kill Me'' came through a crowdfunding campaign on

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

, managed by producers

and

. The successful campaign ran from October 6 to November 5, 2014, with 909 backers from all over the world. In the campaign, Andreas and Barrett explain the necessity for crowdsourcing as a viable means for producing LGBT content. They also credit their love of

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

- and

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

-style murder mysteries as the inspiration for this film. Production began on January 7, 2015, for a 17-day shoot, predominantly in

West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...

, where the film is set. The picture was shot on the Epic Red Dragon Camera by cinematographer, Rainer Lipski, edited by Andrew Gust, and original soundtrack was composed by Jonathan Dinerstein. Fredrik Malmberg, best known for producing the ''

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...

'' reboot, is the film's executive producer. The

Saul Bass Saul Bass (; May 8, 1920 – April 25, 1996) was an American graphic designer and Oscar-winning filmmaker, best known for his design of motion-picture title sequences, film posters, and corporate logos. During his 40-year career, Bass wor ...

-inspired animated opening titles sequence was created by graphic artist Scott McPherson. The film's taglines are "West Hollywood Is Murder" and "Coming Soon... with a BANG!"

Filming locations

Notable filming locations: Pink Dot, Here Lounge, West Hollywood, Andaz Hotel, West Hollywood, Odd Fellows Cemetery, Central City Stages, and other locations around

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Awards

* Audience Choice Award, 2015, QCinema Fort Worth's Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival * Best Ensemble, 2015, QCinema Fort Worth's Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival * Best Feature Film, 2016 QFest New Jersey LGBT Film & Digital Media Festival, Asbury Park, New Jersey * Best Feature Film, 2016 FilmOut San Diego * Best Ensemble, 2016 FilmOut San Diego * Best Actor (

), 2016 FilmOut San Diego * Best Screenplay (

), 2016 FilmOut San Diego * Best Cinematography (Rainer Lipski), 2016 FilmOut San Diego * Best Music/Soundtrack (Jonathan Dinerstein), 2016 FilmOut San Diego

Distribution

''Kiss Me, Kill Me'' was released on DVD and Video on Demand through Embrem Entertainment on December 7, 2016. It is available to buy or stream on Amazon.com, iTunes, Vimeo, Google Play and other platforms.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 3912214 *
Kiss Me, Kill Me
' crowdsourcing campaign on

2015 films 2015 crime thriller films 2015 independent films 2015 LGBT-related films 2015 psychological thriller films 2010s English-language films 2010s erotic thriller films 2010s mystery thriller films 2010s romantic thriller films American crime thriller films American erotic romance films American erotic thriller films American independent films American LGBT-related films American mystery thriller films American neo-noir films American psychological thriller films American romantic thriller films Erotic mystery films Films set in Los Angeles County, California Films shot in Los Angeles Gay-related films Kickstarter-funded films Lesbian-related films LGBT-related thriller films 2010s American films