The year is 1840. In the small California costal town of Dante's Cove, Grace (Tracy Scoggins) is engaged to marry a wealthy gentleman by the name of Ambrosius (William Gregory Lee). Grace just happens to be a powerful witch from a local coven known as the Daughter's of Treasum. Now, Ambrosius has a few secrets of his own: mainly that he digs dudes, has no interest in Grace, and is using her to gain the power of Treasum. When Grace catches Ambrosius in a sexual clench with his well-endowed butler, all hell breaks loose. Grace flies into a rage killing the butler with her red glowing eyes. "You filthy little piece of rubbish!" Grace places a curse on Ambrosius and entombs him in the basement of his house. Only the kiss of a handsome young man will break this curse.

Fast forward to present time. A group of good looking, trendy and hip twenty somethings live in the trendy, hip, and totally cool Hotel Dante, which just happens to be the former home of Ambrosius. Did I say former home? Well, guess who is still down the in the basement waiting for a kiss-kiss from a hot young stud?

Let's meet the residents of the Hotel Dante, shall we? Hunky Toby (Charlie David) is a local bartender and all around nice dude who is involved in a long distance relationship with equally hunky Kevin (Gregory Michael). Kevin lives with his mother and homophobic stepfather in nearby Laguna Beach. After a dinner table argument that turns into a bitch slapping match, Kevin hightails it to Dante's Cove to be with Toby. Upon Kevin's arrival, cute circuit boi type Corey (Josh Berresford) introduces him to the other hipsters: Amber (Zara Taylor) a pretty lesbian with long dark hair, Adam (Stephen Amell) the token pretty boy/straight/spoiled/trust fund brat, and Van (Nadine Heimann) a cute n' plucky lesbian/artist who paints disturbing images from her dreams of the house's past. Oh. There are also two ghost children named Betty and Stephen who haunt the hotel.

One night during a cool/hip/trendy party at the Hotel Dante, one of the hot young male characters (filled with loads of booze) is drawn to the basement by Ambrosius. Mr. A. has been locked up for 200 years and is ready to exact his revenge on Grace and get his groove on with said hot young male. Once the seal of the curse has been broken, nothing will be the same for this young/hip/hot group of trendsetters, as all that is supernatural breaks loose.

Characterization isn't one of "Dante's Cove's" strong points. The viewer never really learns anything about the characters. Why is Grace the worlds biggest "F*g Hag" for Ambrosius? Were there no other good looking guys around for her? Why is Kevin still living at home mooching off of rich mommy when he is clearly in his early twenties? Why is artist Van led to paint the visions from her dreams? Does she have some type of psychic abilities? What do these people do with their lives besides party, have sex, and lounge around the hotel and nearby beach? How about more background on the Daughters of Treasum? Is Grace the only witch left?

This leads me to another of the mini series problems: the writing. Frankly, I don't care about a couple (Toby and Kevin) whose conversations revolve around going to the gym, loving backrubs and using too much "product" in their hair. The dialogue is stilted and this becomes painfully apparent in the scenes between Grace and Ambrosius as they throw threats back and forth as to who is going to seek revenge upon whom, and so on and on and on....okay! We get it! You're pissed at each other!

Tracy Scoggins is fun as Grace. Ms. Scoggins really cuts loose and hams it up for her role of the sexually frustrated and vengeful witch. William Gregory Lee as Ambrosius is a perfect match for Ms. Scoggins and meets her wild Diva rants with his own sexy, sinister, and sneering performance. Of the other cast members, I like Charlie David as Toby and Nadine Heimann as his best friend Van. Toby and Van's friendship is much more believable than their romantic relationships. The scenes shared between them before the supernatural shenanigans are natural and relaxed.

Perhaps to make up for the lack of any real characterization or scares, there is plenty of soft-core male/male and female/female lovin' to fill the "Queer as Folk" and "The L Word" quotient. It's hilarious to watch the actors twist around on the sheets supposedly making mad passionate love but ever so careful to not reveal their naughty bits.

The DVD

Video:

The two disc mini series (with the combined running time of three hours and ten minutes) is presented in widescreen. The picture quality is high providing a sharp, clear picture. The videography by Chris Squires and Mark Melville is slick, stylized, and top notch while the editing can go overboard at times with the MTV style of quick cuts.

Sound:

The sound in English Dolby Digital 5.1 is sharp providing plenty of haunting ocean noises as well as an eerie score.

Extras:

The extras include an interactive menu, "Backlot" a thirty-minute behind-the-scenes featurette that includes interviews with Director Sam Irvin, Director of Photography Mark Melville, and the actors. The extras also include chapter stops and trailers for other gay and lesbian themed films "Third Man Out", "HellBent", "Julie Johnson", "April's Shower", "Too Cool for Christmas", "Summer Storm", "Deadly Skies", and "Fixing Frank".

Final Thoughts:

I'm really torn about what to give "Dante's Cove". As an openly gay man, I'm very pleased to see so many gay and lesbian productions available. Just ten years ago, this type of programming was not so readily available. I think it's very cool to see such a wide variety of productions in the drama, comedy, and now gothic horror/soap genres where the main characters just happen to be gay and lesbian. From watching the behind-the-scenes featurette included in the extras, there are many people dedicated to creating this type of programming.

Unfortunately, "Dante's Cove" is not very good. I'm a huge fan of the horror genre and I have also enjoyed campy melodrama such as "Dynasty". The mini series is neither scary or something I would call a "guilty pleasure". I believe the problems lie within the lack of characterization and the script. As I mentioned before, I don't give a damn about two bubble headed dudes who babble on about working out, hair "product", and who have oral sex in the back of a taxi. Ohh! How daring! The other characters are so underdeveloped I have no reason to care if they fall under the evil influence of the two immortals. For the acting, Tracy Scoggins and William Gregory Lee are fun to watch as they chew the scenery. As mentioned, the most natural and believable acting is by Charlie David and Nadine Heimann when they share scenes before the supernatural poop hits the fan. A quote from the back of the package screams that the mini series is a cross between "Melrose Place" and "Dark Shadows". Don't believe it. Perhaps Dr. Julia Hoffman (the wonderful Grayson Hall) from "Dark Shadows" gave "Dante's Cove" one of her infamous sedatives. It sure seems like it.