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HURRICANE AARON

Brothers Aaron and Cory share a shameful secret—a secret worth killing for.

When Army vet and convicted murderer Aaron (J.R. Howell) is released early from prison, he seeks to re-establish contact with his brother, Cory (Michael Bonini). But when Cory’s devoutly religious fiancée, Cass (Carolyn Laws) discovers that the brothers’ bond is closer than it should be, her efforts to pull them apart threaten to unravel them all in this mind-bending psychosexual thriller.

  • J.R. Howell
    Director
  • J.R. Howell
    Writer
  • J.R. Howell
    Producer
  • J.R. Howell
    Key Cast
    "Aaron Frehr"
    An L.A. Minute, Fury
  • Michael Bonini
    Key Cast
    "Cory Frehr"
  • Carolyn Laws
    Key Cast
    "Cass"
  • Mark Christian
    Cinematographer
  • Tony Schermetzler
    Assistant Director
  • William Bishop
    Boom Op/Location Sound
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Thriller, lgbt, suspense, mystery
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 27 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 2, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    75,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Canon C300
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Central Florida Film Festival
    Orlando, FL
    United States
    September 28, 2019
    Best Florida Film - WINNER, Best Dramatic Feature - Nominee
  • Hot Springs International Horror Film Festival
    Hot Springs, AR
    United States
    September 26, 2019
    Best Thriller Feature - Nominee
  • FEARnyc
    New York, NY
    United States
    October 28, 2019
    World Premiere
    WINNER - Best Director, Nominee Best Feature Film, Nominee Best Screenplay, Nominee Best Original Score
  • South Carolina Underground Film Festival
    Charleston, SC
    United States
    November 9, 2019
    Official Selection
Director Biography - J.R. Howell

J.R. Howell's first feature film, HURRICANE AARON, a psychosexual thriller about two brothers whose affair with one another turns homicidal after one brother's pregnant girlfriend goes missing, addresses a number of themes largely missing from LGBTQ cinema, namely themes of shame and rage in the gay psyche. HURRICANE AARON takes LGBT cinema from pride to wrath.

In addition to writing and directing the film, he also composed the original music for the film's score.

Before becoming a filmmaker, J.R. worked for more than a decade as an attorney in the field of human rights, putting his law degree to work for the African American community, immigrants, HIV/AIDS issues, women victimized by sexual assault in the workplace, individuals with disabilities, and those struggling with substance abuse and addiction issues. His role as a lawyer was often indistinguishable with that of a social worker and devoted friend. In this capacity, he experienced both first hand and vicariously the heights and depths of the human condition. He's taken those experiences and plunged them into the pathos of his art.

J.R. is currently working on period dramas (both nonfiction and fiction) with historical revisionist points of view and socially speculative fiction projects for film and television/streaming.

J.R. lives on his farm in the Southeast USA.

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Director Statement

HURRICANE AARON's incestuous brothers, Cory and Aaron, each struggle with a painful shame stemming from a lust that men like them shouldn't feel. Their devolution into homicidal madness takes them both on a spree of rage.

The characters' personal journeys are allegorical of the psychological effects of the different manner in which each of us addresses our own private shames, the inner violences we do to ourselves, and the hurts we inflict on the ones we love.

Underlying the film's haunting cinematography is a subliminal sound design crafted to induce anxiety and fear.