There is so much more high-quality LGBTQ+ focused entertainment than there used to be. Nothing proves this more that streaming service Revry, the world’s first global queer TV streaming network. The network has even launched their own award show for LGBTQ+ content. This makes finding the best LGBTQ+ movies on Revry right now a bit of a challenge, since its all queer content all the time! Even narrowing it down to a short thematic list, like this list of the best love stories, can be a challenge!

While queer content is everywhere these days, the site explains that “unlike many mainstream networks that may feature queer characters but are otherwise made for mainstream audiences, Revry is–unapologetically–queer and made for the queer community.” But here are a few favorites that help demonstrate what a storehouse of queer goodness Revry really is.

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Parting Glances

Some of the best LGBTQ+ movies on Revry are classics that might be hard to find on other platforms. Parting Glances is a prime example of a true LGBTQ+ classics on the platform. The film is a 1986 American drama that offers a realistic look at gay life in New York during the height of the AIDS crisis by focusing on a 24-hour period in the life of a gay male couple, Robert and Michael. Robert is about to be sent to Africa for a two-year gig at work, leaving Michael in New York, where he cares for his ex, Nick (notably a breakout role for actor Steve Buscemi), who is dying of AIDS. The film has been critically acclaimed for providing sensitive insight into gay life in the midst of the AIDS crisis. The movie's director, Bill Sherwood, himself died of complications from AIDS in 1990, leaving Parting Glances as his only feature film.

Presque Rien (English release as Come Undone)

International films comprise some of the absolute best LGBTQ+ movies on Revry. And if you enjoy a little bit of steamy romance and a lot of teen angst, Come Undone might be right up your alley! Come Undone is a 2000 French-Belgian romantic drama film (originally released as Presque Rien which literally means Almost Nothing). The film was directed by Sebastien Lifshitz.

Set in Brittany, Come Undone revolves around the developing romance between two 18-year-olds, Mathieu and Cédric. Mathieu is vacationing in Brittany before going off to college in the fall, under the shadow of the death of his brother. While there he meets the attractive and on-the-prowl Cédric. The relationship barrels toward a dramatic conclusion, though the film does end with a hint of optimism.

Howl

​Art films have long been the refuge of LGBTQ+ stories, but in the last couple of decades, more and more art films have featured professional budgets and big-name cast members attached to their projects. Some of the best LGBTQ+ movies on Revry, be they feature-length or shorts, fall into this category.

Howl, the 2010 American film written and directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, stars James Franco as 20th-century American poet Allen Ginsberg. The film details Ginsberg's 1955 Six Gallery debut and the 1957 obscenity trial that followed. While Franco received critical notice for his acting—though others are critical of having a straight male actor playing an LGBT lead role—the film itself was neither a critical nor commercial hit. The cinematic techniques used in the film—which isn't chronological and also involve intermittent use of animation—may have contributed to the mixed critical reception.

Meth Head

A lot of cinema that tells LGBTQ+ stories can offer presentations that are shallow or paper over some of the uglier sides of life. They are full of pretty people and focus on the things done to us. But some of the best LGBTQ+ drama gets real and holds focus, presenting the dark sides of our own experience unflinchingly.

Jane Clark's film Meth Head focuses on the way methamphetamine can ravage a life by specifically focusing on how it effects on Kyle, a gay man played by Lukas Haas, and those nearest him. Lavender Magazine wrote of Haas' role in this film: "Haas is shattering in a portrayal of self-destruction that gets specific in its emotion so that there is no track of generalized emotion that becomes parody. Every single moment he is on screen is real. He bravely reveals the deterioration of an addict. He is Oscar Nomination-worthy and it’s among the best addiction performances ever put to film, whether mainstream or GLBT-indie." For this high praise along, Meth Head ranks as one of the best LGBTQ+ movies on Revry

Tooth 4 Tooth

There are a LOT of LGBTQ+ horror fans out there, and there's not a whole lot of LGBTQ+ representation in horror. Sure there are exceptions, like You're Killing Me (2015) and low budget specialties like Kissing Darkness. Then there are mainstream horror films that reference the LGBTQ+ community, like the heavy gay overtones or A Nightmare on Elm Street 2.

Revry is building a collection of LGBTQ+ horror, but it's small so far. One of the best LGBTQ+ movies on Revry though is a horror short called Tooth 4 Tooth! In this creative attempt to tell a new kind of vampire story with LGBTQ+ characters and themes, we find a drag performer and an activist investigating the murder of a friend who find themselves caught in an old battle between those who feed on the blood of the fearful and those who feed on the blood of the hateful.

These are just a small representation of the best LGBTQ+ movies on Revry—there are a ton of others, and you truly can't go wrong. In addition to these films and many more, there are documentaries and shorts, as well as Revry original programs, LGBTQ+ themed series and local programming from around the world.

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