In 1977, Director Roman Polanski (The Pianist) drugged a thirteen-year-old girl, engaged in intercourse with her, and took nude photos of her bathing in a hot tub. Once charged with this crime, he fled the country. As a fugitive from the law, he is unable to return to the United States. When The Pianist was nominated for an Oscar in 2003, he dared not attend for fear of being arrested on the spot.
In 1989, director Victor Silva’s Clownhouse earned the distinction of the only horror film shown at Cannes. The film tells the story of a young boy who, after sneaking away to the circus, is terrorized by crazed criminals dressed as clowns. During the filming, Silva molested the twelve-year-old star. When police broke into his house to investigate, they found damning evidence: Silva had videotaped himself engaging in oral sex with the youth.
Unlike Polanski, Silva remained in the country, served fifteen months of jail time, and complied with regulations requiring him to register as a child molester.
Polanski went on to become an Oscar-winning director. Silva, too, reassembled his career, releasing Powder, a mediocre film about a pale young man with unusual abilities. Powder generated a great deal of controversy. Nathan Winters, the young man molested during the filming of Clownhouse, stepped forward to lead protests against the film.
Silva’s latest film is in theatres today: Jeepers Creepers 2. There’s less controversy this time around, and it’s America’s number one movie. As at least one critic has noted, the movie is mostly remarkable for the lingering gazes it casts upon the shirtless young men who people the story. The homoeroticism in the story has led others to wonder if the story’s monster, The Creeper, might himself be gay.
Once you know of Silva’s history, the scenes in Clownhouse in which young boys are frequently seen in underpants (or even nude) take on an entirely different meaning. The homoerotic undercurrent in Powder is undeniable — the main character, in fact, is pummelled by other young men for having cast admiring glances at a naked member of the football team. Silva’s other features, including Jeepers Creepers, all contain shirtless young men, loving caressed by soft lights and close focus.
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