The Queer Gaze

It's a Conrad pick as our theme on 'Sex Work and Pornography' continues with Robin Campillo’s genre hybrid, Eastern Boys (2013).
The film tackles several uncomfortable subjects, including a significant age gap between client and sex worker, an incredibly tense home invasion-style "party" and a challenging protagonist in Daniel (Olivier Rabourdin).
Plus: shifting genres, a dialogue-free opening, and the moment Joe had to jump ahead because he couldn't stand the tension.
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Conrad and Joe check out writer/director Moshe Rosenthal's exquisite 80s throwback, which played Sundance 2026.
Featuring incredible performances across the board, this 5 star film about a tumultuous father/son relationship feels extremely Pedro Almodovar-coded. It's one to watch when it becomes available!
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We're kicking off a new theme, 'Sex work and Pornography', with Justin Kelly's 2016 true crime adaptation, King Cobra (2016) which tells the story of underage porn star Brent Corrigan and the murder of Bryan Kocis (here named Stephen).
Starring Christian Slater (superb) and James Franco (ick) as predatory older gay men, the film is stylish, but hollow.
Bonus points for Molly Ringwald and Alicia Silverstone, though!
Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze for 24 more minutes of spoiler-heavy discussion.
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Conrad and Joe are joined by Horror Queers' Trace Thurman to discuss Charlie Polinger's debut feature, The Plague (2025).
Expect plenty of discussion about pre-teen bullying, queer-coding, and body horror as we're collectively triggered by this story about hazing rituals gone awry at an all-boy water polo camp.
Plus: praising Kayo Martin as central antagonist Jake, Joel Edgerton's useless Coach, and debate about how rarely (or not!) this kind of story is told.
Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze for a ~33 minute bonus spoiler-heavy discussion.
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For our final 'Cruising' entry, we've returned to France to discuss Alain Giraudie's Stranger By The Lake (2013).
It's one of Joe's favourite contemporary texts, but what did Conrad think of his time watch?
Plus: unsimulated sex, naturalistic sound design, Henri's separation, and the lake as a gay utopia
Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze another ~23 minutes of spoiler-heavy discussion.
Like the show? Rate, review and subscribe to help others find us
Follow the show on Insta and BlueSky: @thequeergaze.
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.