Black queer horror The Hold puts terrifying twist on a first date
Black queer horror The Hold turns a romantic encounter into a supernatural nightmare as it competes for the £40,000 Iris Prize.
A promising encounter between two men takes a terrifying turn in The Hold, a Black queer horror short competing for one of the world's biggest LGBTQ+ film prizes.
The film follows Nathan and Adrian after what should be an intimate night together, except Nathan is desperately trying not to fall asleep. The reason soon becomes clear: his night terrors may be considerably more real than Adrian expects.
Queer romance meets supernatural horror
London filmmaker Ashley Panton uses the horror setup to explore intimacy, vulnerability and the fear of allowing somebody new to see the parts of ourselves we would rather keep hidden.
Panton has already spoken about wanting to develop The Hold into a feature, potentially giving its two central characters and supernatural world a much bigger story.
For now, the short is one of 35 films from 22 countries competing for the £40,000 Iris Prize, which supports LGBTQ+ filmmakers in creating their next project.
The Hold screens in Cardiff on 13 October as part of the Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival, which runs from 12 to 18 October.
Viewers elsewhere in the UK will not necessarily miss out. The competing short-film programmes are also being made available online during October, with access continuing until 31 October.
That makes The Hold particularly well timed for Halloween viewing, combining queer storytelling with a supernatural premise that could have life well beyond its festival run.
Images: The Hold/Iris Prize.
