Director Bruce LaBruce has a tendency to upset people.

His mainstream films, Super 8 1/2, No Skin Off My Ass, and Hustler White have all earned reviews that included descriptions like "disgusting, sick, filthy, pornographic, and scary." LaBruce himself has been compared both positively and negatively to Andy Warhol, and branded "untalented" as an actor, director and writer. Gay and lesbian viewers have stormed out of Amsterdam theaters, calling him a Nazi.

Ya gotta wonder what they'll think of Skin Gang.

In some ways both LaBruce's most daring and perhaps most consistent production, Skin Gang tells the story of a gang of gay London skinheads, their date with destiny in the guise of interracial lovers Leroy and Karl, and the moment when a young man must decide what path his life will follow.

Technically, this video is superb; its real flaws are only evident in its occasionally inconsistent editing. Those unfamiliar with English dialects may have trouble wading through some of the accents —in the country of the mother tongue, no less. And, ultimately, this isn't SLC Punk. The subject matter coupled with the appearance of often non-consensual sexuality just isn't going to be for everyone. There are those who don't find the idea of two or more Nazi skinheads smooching, sucking, fucking, and fighting to be dick-stiffening, or the personal problems of said anti-heroes to be captivating. Imagine that.

Those who do, however, will be impressed by the "real movie" feel. The sex is hot and raw, the switch between black-and-white and color effective, the music slam-danceable, and viewers will actually give a shit about the characters.

LaBruce introduces (with a sometimes awkward sense of passing time) a host of memorable characters, including gang members Dirk (Eden Muller) and Dieter (Steve Master), two jack-booted queers with an erotic and disturbing approach to sex with one another and a gut-twisting approach to forwarding their social reform agendas. Their pal Wolfgang (Ralph Steel) enjoys robbing the elderly in the park and beating up anonymous citizens (including LaBruce) before fucking handsome strangers in the public restroom. Manfred (Tim Winzent) is a fledgling skinhead unsure of where to direct his youthful frustrations beyond wearing out porn mags and jacking off on Mein Kampf. On the side of goodness and beauty are Leroy (Bastian) and Karl (Jens Hammer), yummy-looking interracial lovers with their own little sexual secrets. Their love is (predictably) tested by a hatred that may prove too strong to resist.

For a video with so many unredeemable characters, there is a surprisingly redeeming ending. Apparently LaBruce may be vulgar, but he's not immoral.

Love and frontier justice win out, and so we're able to get off in a big way; both when Leroy sucks Karl's toes in a sensual shrimping scene and when the bad boys beak into the couple's love nest for a bit of ultraviolence, some racial slurs, and the old non-con in-out-in-out. The video's penultimate scene is intense for its erotic appeal, its ability to hit emotional hot buttons related to rape, racism, and revenge, and its sheer visual beauty.

The images of men comforting the dying and the damaged are often beautifully framed, further confusing the traditional concepts of ugly violence and beautiful sex.

Shot in London, Berlin, and New York, Skin Gang features camerawork that scans these landscapes lovingly, creating —along with the soundtrack— an atmosphere simultaneously lush and gritty in its realism.

Maybe LaBruce has finally found a medium suitable for his previously sensational subject matter. He's finally earned the title of "pornographer" and, if Skin Gang is any indication, may well help further elevate it. This virgin (for lack of a better word) effort certainly is a positive sign.

Retailers will find Skin Gang available in both soft and hardcore versions.

Pre-nom Best Gay Video, Best Supporting Actor (Winzent), Best Solo Performance (Winzent), Videography Directing, Music and Art Direction.