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Brian Yandle (Greensboro SC) wrote on 11/30/2011:

If you’re anything like me & you enjoy the more darkly erotic ventures that are rarely offered in gay cinema this series might earn a consideration. Altogether, there are three full-length dvds including the most recent masterpiece “Payton Collins Serial Rapist” & the very insightful “The Night At The End Of The Tunnel”, which I highly recommend watching first. And of course, “Live For Sex Die For Love” as well as “Like A Moth To A Flame” are also included in the same package.

Live for Sex Die For Love is, without doubt, one of the best unknown films of 2008. Filmed on an estimated budget of about $6k. Despite being a low budget indie film, Live For Sex exhibits a natural feeling of human parallels without ever feeling contrived. Live For Sex Die For Love may not be an easy film to digest but it's a rewarding view nonetheless.

Payton Collins Serial Rapist is perhaps the quintessential Toby Ross masterpiece. Although Payton Collins is perhaps much less sexually explicit, the film nevertheless packs one hell of wallop for it’s intended audience. Not only is Brent Collins attractive but his eyes are literally cold & haunting as his facial expressions which undoubtedly will leave chills running down your spine. Perhaps what strikes a nerve with viewers here is the mere fact that Payton Collins seems frighteningly real and the film is a constant reminder that such monsters do exist in society. Brent Collins (Payton) is now joining ranks with the late Joe Spinell who played played Frank Zito in Maniac. If you're NOT a tad bit fearful of the dark after watching, you're probably already dead.

The third film in the Darkotica series is also a very disturbing collection of three short films by Toby Ross & Joe Rubin. Two of the short films involve serial killers which are rather unpleasant at times & might even be precursors to the infamous Payton Collins Serial Rapist although each film maintains it’s own identity in development & structure. Some of the material is rather humorous including a montage in which could be deemed a spoof of the Nancy Grace show. I particularly enjoyed the 16mm film style which hasn’t been employed in modern films for some time. Overall, these films have to be seen to be believed.

Lastly, you can’t have a good Darkotica box set without a proper introduction to the films. Toby Ross has granted us a very intimate look at his film ideas, his cast/crew, & takes us to the very heart of what makes Darkotica truly successful. It’s definitely an easy film to watch as Toby is, indeed, a very charming man who injects liberal doses of humor into his testimony. Again, I would recommend watching the documentary first before cracking into the other films but the DARKOTICA series as a whole is indeed a treasure worth owning. 5 stars.

Amos Lassen wrote on 11/28/2011:

The common thread between all three features and even the documentary, in a strange way, is the manipulation of sexually obsessed men who are flawed in their character and travel the wrong path in an already destroyed life, trying to redeem themselves only to find out that things go from bad to worse.They are all dark and haunting but for separate reasons. In the first one "Live for Sex Die for Love", a young man runs away from home in a search for his father and joins a group of young desperados employed by a sleazy creep who exploits them for everything he can get. One of the boys falls in love with another and together they try to make a run for it. This one has more sex then the other two and is sad but not scary. It has many twists and turns. I would award it with 3 stars out of 5.

The Second one, like a moth to a flame is compiled of three shorts. In Our Darkest Moments mixes wry humor and tense drama as it chronicles the sleazy exploits of a hunky closeted married man who cruises seedy bookstores and sex dens. He begins an affair with a dangerous teenager, unaware of the disastrous effects it will have on his life.
In the Dark, Softly, directed by Joe Rubin and shot on 16mm film, has the visual ambiance of an art-house film crossed with the grittiness of exploitation cinema and is a love story of sorts, chronicling a young man's obsession with a local serial killer.
And in the final film, In Deep, the police are trying to catch a murderer who preys on lonely men and then offs them with his extraordinarily large appendage. Maybe this killer is more than he seems....This one is the best of the bunch and even by itself alone is worth the price. Loved it. 3/12 Stars

The third one "Payton Collins-Serial Rapist" chronicles the life of crime of a gay/bi sexy monster (if there is such a thing) from childhood to the end when he finally gets caught, it is done in the style of a TV crime show such as 48 hours and is a trip you might want to check out. What I loved about Payton was the fact that Ross lets you get close to him and almost know him to an interesting point we might not want to admit... there are no apologies here as we see how he rapes to his victims, he is a pervert that will frighten you but draw you in just the same... like a flame you want to watch but never touch. 4 stars out of 4 for this one.

"The Night at the End of the Tunnel" is an insightful documentary explaining the philosophy that ties these works together and has some very amusing personal anecdotes told by the director and the cast.

CineSphinx wrote on 10/02/2011:

This entire collection is so much cinematic masturbation. The plot lines are incomprehensible. The "actors" even more so. The editing is disjointed and nerve wracking. And the musical score makes finger nails on a blackboard sound good. Do yourself a favor. Buy something else. There are much better and more pleasurable ways to spend $60 here on TLA. I threw my 4-disk collection in the trash/