THE LIVING END (1992)

Craig Gilmore and Mike Dytri star in pioneering writer/director Gregg Araki’s 1992 New Queer Cinema classic THE LIVING END.

The film opens with the sound of spray paint and then shows one of the film’s two protagonists, Luke (Mike Dytri), a handsome leather-clad drifter, writing “F**K THE WORLD.” on a wall and then taking a swig of Jack Daniels. He then stares out into the cityscape of Los Angeles and the film’s other lead character is then introduced; Jon (Craig Gilmore), a film critic, sits nervously in his car, eventually driving onto the freeway revealing a bumper sticker that reads “CHOOSE DEATH.”

Later, Luke flags down Jon’s car after shooting a trio of homophobic attackers and their journey begins. Jon brings Luke home with him, but before the two go to bed together he states he was recently diagnosed as HIV-positive. “Welcome to the club, partner.” Luke replies while kissing him.

THE LIVING END was controversial when it was released, largely due to the fact that it featured its HIV-positive lovers having unprotected sex with each other. “People were just so outraged,” Araki stated in a 2022 interview with “i-D” when discussing the film’s premiere at Sundance. He then added, “seeing it today, it seems almost naive and a little bit cute. But it wasn't viewed that way in 1992.” It’s important to note that the film was released near the peak period of AIDS-related deaths in the United States. This is also why Araki ends the film with the intertitle:

“dedicated to craig lee (1954-1991) and the hundreds of thousands who’ve died and the hundreds of thousands more who will die because of a big white house full of republican f**kheads.”

THE LIVING END

1992. USA.

Director: Gregg Araki

Screenplay: Gregg Araki

Starring: Craig Gilmore Mike Dytri, Mary Woronov, Johanna Went, Darcy Marta, Scott Goetz and Mark Finch

You can find THE LIVING END streaming on Kanopy (USA) and BFI Player (UK) – and available for rent/purchase through AppleTV and YouTube.