HATE CRIME pretty much tells the audience what to expect from its title.  The trouble starts when a religious fanatic (Chad Donella) and son of the town’s pastor (Bruce Davison) moves next door to gay couple, Robbie (Seth Peterson) and Trey (Brian J. Smith).  Writer/director Tommy Stovall takes the first half of his feature debut down predictability lane, down to not only to an expected gay bashing but right to any ones correct guess as to who the victim is.  All the typical set ups scenes are there – gay survivor mourning over his past neglect, token love-making scene, parents coping with the loss and cops doing and finding out nothing. 

But Stovall’s characters are well written, particularly the two mothers.  Well performed by Cindy Pickett and Susan Blakely, the confrontation scene, executed with a minimum of screaming exemplifies both the identical feeling of a woman’s love towards a son and the difficulties of dealing with a problem child.  As one would expect such a film to itself commit a hate crime by pitting the audience against the church, Stovall puts in his two cents worth by brilliantly cross cutting two sermons during a Sunday service, one promoting love by a gay positive church and the other preaching hate. 

Though one could argue that the film’s first half is necessary for him to take it to a better second half, Stovall could have opted for a more edgy approach.  As the film unfolds into its second half with the audience expecting a typical whodunit/revenge thriller, Stovall surprises with a few pretty smart tricks taking his film a completely different route.  Robbie undergoes a character change, pushed to the limit and coaxed by his strong-willed neighbour (Lin Shaye).  Other characters emerge and unexpected events pop up.  Even the little twist involving a gay prejudiced detective (Giancarlo Esposito) puts a neat brilliant touch to the film’s ending.

The film is produced by Ebony Tay.  Her brother’s partner committed suicide after his family and friends turned on him after he announced his sexuality.  This is her tribute.  HATE CRIME may be about a gay couple but the subject is topical and relates to any hate crime.  HATE CRIME finally emerges as a carefully crafted crime/thriller/drama.