Andy Milligan’s unique career as a filmmaker—known for creating low-budget, controversial films—has had an indelible impact on queer cinema. His life and artistic contributions are now the subject of a new documentary titled The Deviants: The Life and Films of Andy Milligan, which will make its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York on June 11. The film will be presented by Severin Films and Monocular Films, with the first trailer and poster exclusively revealed by Variety.
Directed by Josh and Grayson Taylor Johnson, the documentary features interviews with key figures in Milligan’s world, including Gerald Jacuzzo, Hope Stansbury, Jimmy McDonough, Stephen Srole, Sam Sherman, John Bosc, Robert Berlin, Ken Lane, Bob Licola, and Alex DiSanto. The film also includes recently discovered interview footage of Milligan, which is believed to be the only surviving interview material of the filmmaker.
Milligan’s low-budget films—where he worked as the writer, director, cinematographer, editor, set designer, and costume designer—include notable works such as The Ghastly Ones, Bloodthirsty Butchers, The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, Torture Dungeon, and The Rats Are Coming! The Werewolves Are Here!. These films, marked by themes of sadism, incest, and misogyny, are notorious for their extreme violence and were shot in Staten Island and briefly in London. Despite their early critical rejection, these films contributed to Milligan’s reputation as an outsider artist, eventually influencing the evolution of queer cinema.
Through interviews with Milligan’s collaborators, cast members, co-conspirators, and biographers, the documentary paints a portrait of this rebellious filmmaker who battled his inner demons and became one of the most groundbreaking outsider artists of the 20th century.
In addition to the Tribeca Film Festival screening, The Deviants will also feature the 2k restoration of Milligan’s two lost works, The Deviants and Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me!, showcasing previously unreleased footage.
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