DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

In film school I was introduced to Giallo — an Italian hybrid subgenre from the 60s & 70s that had a lasting influence on world cinema and directly anticipated the American slasher movement.

I quickly fell in love with Giallo’s bizarrely camp world of meticulously choreographed violence, often dream-like depictions of eroticism, and unapologetic focus on style & atmosphere over conventional narrative concerns.

I was also drawn to the subgenre’s surprisingly large number of queer characters. Their portrayal was largely stereotyped and depthless, but as a queer person slowly growing into my own sexuality, I nonetheless appreciated seeing elements of myself on screen.

In the years that followed, a desire grew within me to resurrect the Giallo subgenre through a queer lens. I would daydream about creating my own Giallo films that would centre queer characters as protagonists and turn the stereotypes and tired tropes on their heads.

Bath Bomb is the first step toward manifesting those dreams into reality. This twisted little short establishes a queer approach to Giallo aesthetics that I intend to expand upon through multiple long-form projects. It offers calculated visual flair, sudden bursts of delicious violence, a dollop of sexy man-flesh, and a judicious amount of campy humour.

So come on in… the water’s fine :)

- Colin G Cooper