Alongside Swoon and Poison, Gregg Araki’s third feature film is one of the most provocative films to emerge from the New Queer Cinema. Two HIV-positive boys, one a street hustler, the other a film reviewer, take to the road on a gleeful journey of violence, sex, and indulgence in an attempt to escape their medical status. Developing the techniques of his earlier films (long takes, quirky framing, voice-overs), Araki energeticaly welds romance and road-movie genre with the issues of being young and gay in the 90’s. An anarchic and potent ‘in-your-face film’, The Living End has provoked strong and mixed reactions form audiences. Undeniable, however, is the power of this audacious piece of filmmaking, which firmly establishes Araki as a young talent to look out for.