Review: King Cobra

Justin Kelly's King Cobra aims for a lot of things and that ambitious nature often gets the best of it. Part homo-erotic thriller, part tragic portrait of the gay porn industry, part true story of a victim of a horrible crime, King Cobra rarely knows what it wants to be.

The film is largely structured around the rise of Brent Corrigan (Garrett Clayton), a gay porn star that helped build Cobra Video. Christian Slater plays Stephen, Bryan Kocis in real life, the producer that runs the company out of his home. Cobra Video is largely devoted to twink porn and Brent soon becomes a major star. As you might expect, once Brent hits the big time he wants more money and soon the relationship with Stephen becomes toxic. Enter in another star and producer team, Joe (James Franco) and Harlow (Keegan Allen). The two of them are campy as all hell as a power couple driven to desperate acts trying to pay off their lavish lifestyle. 

The film focuses more on Brent but the real story here is the murder of Bryan Kocis. Slater gives the film's best performance and it is a shame Justin Kelly didn't see that. Too often he wants to push the limits of mainstream homosexual sex in favor of better storytelling. Franco is particularly cartoonish as Joe. The uneven nature of the performances suggests Kelly didn't know what kind of film he wanted to make. Scenes of graphic and comical sex are juxtaposed with scenes that try to get at the sadness behind the porn industry. The screenplay falls back on tropes rather than follow the most interesting aspects of this true story.

That isn't to say that King Cobra isn't without moments. The film is visually striking. The pulpy nature occasionally yields some energetic verve to the thriller elements at play. However, taken as a whole King Cobra is a mess. Tonally shifting from scene to scene, the film never feels heartfelt in wanting to tell this true story. Rather it wants to make a standard thriller with a lot of gay sex. 

If Kelly had committed to making a lurid B-movie with tons of sex and graphic violence, King Cobra might have been a good time. Instead the film too often feels unsure of itself. There also seems to be a true lack of respect for anyone involved in these horrific events. 

2/5