Scorch Marks: Queer Apocalyptic Horror Film Premieres October 1

We’re getting a new queer horror movie just in time for spooky season. Dekkoo Films has announced that Scorch Marks, an apocalyptic survival horror film written and directed by Brendan Haley, will premiere exclusively on the LGBTQ+ streaming platform on October 1.

The film follows Beckett (Brandon Shypkowski), who wakes up to a world that appears to have been devastated by some kind of catastrophe. Things get considerably worse when he finds himself trapped with the lingering presence of his abusive ex-husband, Joel (Chris Salvatore), while an even more terrifying force approaches from beyond the horizon.

Yes, this is an apocalypse story, but Scorch Marks is also deeply interested in the messier parts of queer relationships. Haley developed the film around toxic relationship dynamics within the gay community and the ways heteronormative expectations can continue to influence queer people even after coming out. The result is a horror story where the literal storm threatening the characters also serves as a metaphor for the chaos and isolation imposed by a world that doesn’t always make room for people who don’t fit its expectations.

“I was particularly drawn to the examination of toxic gay relationships and how some dynamics within them are born out of destructive heteronormative standards which have the potential to bleed over from the time before we’re ‘out’ as our true selves,” Haley says.

The film brings together a particularly fun cast for a queer horror story. Shypkowski stars as Beckett, while Salvatore, known for his roles in the Eating Out franchise, takes on the considerably darker role of Joel, his abusive ex-husband. Peter Stickles plays Leith, an unpredictable survivalist dealing with his own internalized homophobia, while horror veterans Tiffany Shepis and Vander Von Odd round out the principal cast. Von Odd, the inaugural winner of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, plays Tiamat, the film’s primordial cosmic threat.

Haley draws from cosmic horror, existential drama, and ancient Mesopotamian mythology to build the film’s apocalyptic world, with Tiamat bringing an especially supernatural element to the story. But beneath all the monsters, storms, and psychological terror, Scorch Marks is interested in a very queer question: what happens when we’re forced to confront the unhealthy behaviors and expectations we’ve inherited, and whether we can choose something better?

As Haley puts it, “Scorch Marks at its core is an examination of the destructive behaviors brought on by heteronormative society even when we don’t realize they’re at play. It is an existential meditation on our ability as queer people to hope for better and to choose better than what’s been given to us.”

We’ll be keeping Scorch Marks on our radar as we head into spooky season. The film premieres exclusively on Dekkoo on October 1, giving queer horror fans another reason to check out the LGBTQ+ streaming platform and add this new apocalyptic story to their watchlist. Don’t miss it when it arrives this fall.

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Scorch Marks will be available to stream on Dekkoo on October 1. Follow us on X and Instagram for all queer stuff!

Featured Image: Image Courtesy of Dekkoo Films. Photo by Lester Villarama.