Fire Island star Zane Phillips and Fellow Travellers lead Jelani Alladin – both out gay actors – will lead queer erotic thriller Strangers on a Beach.
The film, which will be directed by Michael Schwartz, is set in the 1980s, and is heralded by the official (and horny) synopsis, “It’s 1983 in San Francisco and a mysterious killer is targeting homosexual men. But Calvin just wants to kiss that handsome stranger.”
Phillips and Alladin will star alongside How to Get Away With Murder‘s Jack Falahee, Juliana Aidén Martinez (Griselda), Nancy Lam (Miss Saigon) and Perry Young (In The Heights).
Schwartz, as reported by Variety, said in a statement that “studio films of that era often reveled in queer subtext,” and that the film is inspired by David Lynch and Brian DePalma’s noir films.
He continued, “But even between the lines, queerness was frequently coded as danger. That kind of projection carried difficult consequences, as did the concealment of identity.
“By centring authentically queer voices – all while keeping things scary, sexy and strange – we set out to challenge the biases of both the characters and the audience who watch them.”
Strangers on a Beach will have its world premiere at the Big Apple Film Festival in New York in June.
Zane Phillips is best known for his role in queer romatinc dramedy Fire Island, and in Netflix’s single season Glamorous. Alladin recently appeared opposite Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer in limited series Fellow Travelers.
Phillips also recently guest starred in the ‘gay Golden Girls‘ sitcom Mid-Century Modern alongside Bomer, Nathan Lane and Nathan Lee Graham. The show, available to stream on Hulu, follows a trio of gay besties as they move to Palm Springs to share their golden years.
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