I am a very happy camper. In recent news, Gregg Araki’s upcoming new movie of 2025 has been put on my radar. 

The thriller film, titled I Want Your Sex stars Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman, and the iconic, unforeseen new actress Charli XCX. While most information surrounding the plot and release date is undisclosed, I expect nothing less than a crazed and chaotic gem.

Any judgments you may draw from the bold title aside, Araki’s movies aren’t what I’d call plain vulgar (though I will admit, to most, his films are an acquired taste). His target demographic consists mostly of angst-ridden adolescents that have such an experimental taste in art that it’s almost pathetic—pathetic having  positive connotations. He appeals to a big fraction of queer youth, and many of his movies contain electric expressions of sexuality and self-discovery.

Despite being pretty niche, I wouldn’t say he’s underground. Araki was one of the most iconic queer directors of the 80s, but being usually overlooked, his art wasn’t truly appreciated until the 90s with his Teenage Apocalypse film trilogy: Totally F***ed Up (1993), The Doom Generation (1995) and Nowhere (1997).

Something that captured my attention is his pure genius, in and out of film. Araki grew up in Santa Barbara, and was accepted into UCSB, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in ‘82. Attending schools back to back, he was accepted into USC, where he graduated again  but with a Master of Fine Arts in 1985. 

He’s a regular Angeleno himself, and he takes the city as his muse. The first time I watched Nowhere, I was mesmerized by how vividly he romanticized LA— then suddenly, I see the Two Blue Whales mural that’s on Venice Boulevard across from our high school !

Araki’s relevance has resurfaced among teenagers of this generation. Out of the few things social media is good for, edits these days have become very creative and advanced. I like to think of them as fan-made trailers. I appreciate them greatly, they’re made so beautifully and accurately towards the aesthetics of the films. 

I am always impressed with how artfully and intricately he crafts his movies. Araki has the magic touch when it comes to conveying emotion through components such as colors, light, placement, metaphors, and soundtrack. He employs his signature variety of music in his films, typically ranging around the area of shoegaze and dreampop, also fluctuating towards the alternative indie rock and new wave sound. His creations are commonly composed of Slowdive, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Aphex Twin, Talking Heads, the list goes on. The additional fast pace creates a very entertaining and enjoyable effect, as well as the many parallel plotlines in each of his films. 

Of course, I’m the uneducated youth, and I’m not as cultured as the torchbearers of the Araki cult. As it happens, I made the discovery that the fans are still alive and thriving in a very unfortunate circumstance: The Doom Generation recently showed on February 6  at the Egyptian Theatre, followed by a Q&A with the starring James Duvall and Gregg Araki himself. Unless I had grabbed a wheelchair and purchased disabled seating, it was futile; every last seat was booked.

“You know, music is probably an even bigger influence on me than cinema … Everything in my movies was inspired by punk rock and new wave music,” Araki said at the Q&A.

When different mediums of art interact so empathetically with each other like that, it’s incredibly beautiful. A song can come on, and suddenly there’s a scene playing in your head—it’s something I feel like Gregg Araki can relate to in his artistic process.

Araki’s low budget charm contributes a great deal to the films’ endearment. The fact that empty pockets can produce such attractive artistic productions is comforting to me. It adds a campy and raw feel to his films. Despite this, low-budget is synonymous with infrequency – it blows, but also makes it definitively more special on the occasion that it happens – the occasion that is now.

This movie is long awaited for many. Araki is notorious for long hiatuses, his extreme unpredictability, and the fact that he is completely invisible online. Nobody ever knows when there’s a project in the making, or if there ever will be one again. Yet whenever he drops a movie, it’s absolute gold.

He works in the shadows, and that is exactly why this should be treated as a miracle phenomenon…

(In remembrance of Michelle Trachtenberg, brilliant cast member of Mysterious Skin, 2005.)