The 2025 HUMP! Film Festival - A Review (Part Three)

WARNING: The following contains explicit discussion and descriptions of intimate sexual encounters and kinks that may be upsetting to some readers. Please continue at your own discretion.

Here we are, the final part of my review of the 2025 HUMP! Film Festival. This has been a lot. Like, a LOT, but that's fine. The important thing is that, like all the filmmakers selected to be showcased at HUMP! 2025, I put it all out there for the world to see.

Hopefully, everyone reading this has also enjoyed the experience. In case you need catching up, you can find Part One and Part Two of my review right here on Vocal.

Now with all that out of the way, let's break down the final eight films that made their way to the silver screen for HUMP! 2025 and, remember, this article opened with multiple content warnings for a reason.

Our First Porno

A chaotic adventure through the basics of baby-making.

Going into it: Awww. Cute.

Getting into it: Okay, so not cute cute. Is that an accordion? Why is she shaking like that? Yogurt break? ... Honestly this is peak comedy.

Full (frontal) review: While I expected Our First Porno to be an exploration of a couple who have never made an erotic film before, it plays out more like an exploration of two people who have somehow made it into adulthood with no working knowledge of sex as a concept. I can't say that Our First Porno isn't pornography, because it is, it just isn't erotic. Instead, Our First Porno is just comedy through and through. If Mel Brooks ever did porn, it would probably look a lot like this. 10/10

Cain

A film that looks into our inner sense of play and naivety with a juxtaposition of our sense of erotica, sensuality, and self-pleasure. This film is set to original music to reflect these themes.

Going into it: This sounds intriguing

Getting into it: Cute? Kind of?

Full (frontal) review: As much as I can appreciate what Cain is trying to do, it's trying a little too hard. Cain checks nearly every box there is on the list of stereotypical arthouse cinema tropes, and while the execution isn't poor, it isn't particularly interesting, either. Like Oasis, Cain shows an understanding of cinema and genuine talent which, unfortunately, fails to culminate in anything that leaves a lasting impact on audiences.

On Edge

Needles in Pepper's skin are tied to knives dangling above.

Going into it: Bathroom break?

Getting into it: This is so clinical. And elaborate. And amateurish? Alright, this is just gorgeous.

Full (frontal) review: I'm sure there are plenty of people who will find On Edge to be highly erotic. I am not one of those people. Initially, I thought I would skip this one entirely, because none of it sounded appealing. That being said, I am SO glad I stuck around to watch On Edge, because it (like so many other films at HUMP!) completely shattered my expectations. On Edge was like watching the world's most dangerous marionette show come to life, and it was utterly captivating.

Squish Oui Oui

Bebe Bunny is baking in Paris, but these sweet treats aren't for eating...

Going into it: Please don't be scat.

Getting into it: Oh, this is just cake farts sitting

Full (frontal) review: I don't know if Bebe Bunny is a performer whose name I was supposed to recognize or a character made up for this film, and I don't really care. As much as I can pretend to appreciate elaborate niche fetish content, nothing about Squish Oui Oui was all that interesting or exciting or novel. Was it well made? I mean, I guess. This one really just wasn't in my wheelhouse, and I'm not sure whether it has enough artistic merit to garner much more of a response than that, even from people who are very much part of this short's intended audience.

The Man Who Perceives All

In his provocative new work of existential science fiction, Emre Busse invites his audience to question the meaning of “the gaze” as part of the post-human experience by replacing the eyes on the face with assholes.

Going into it: Oh jeez, I hope the edibles are wearing off right about now.

Getting into it: Is this... good? Like, really, really good? Oh my god. Am I enjoying absurdist hardcore gay porn, but, like, for the plot?

Full (frontal) review: There is a lot going on with The Man Who Perceived Everything, and I was completely enthralled by every second of it. Like Bebe Bunny, I had no clue who Emre Busse was going into HUMP! 2025, but his work was absolutely enough to get me to start looking into his work beyond it. The Man Who Perceived Everything is baffling in the best of ways. I feel bad for the fact that so much of this film made me laugh uncontrollably, yet I cannot deny that I enjoyed it so much more than almost every film in this year's lineup. The cinematography is captivating, the performances are dedicated, and the overall narrative never disappears behind the fact that yes, this is still porn. The Man Who Perceived Everything knows exactly what it is, what it wants the audience to take away from it, and how to ensure that happens.

Lingus

The tongue eateth out.

Going into it: This sounds like it could be a horror movie.

Getting into it: Oh. So this IS actually just a horror movie.

Full (frontal) review: Lingus is a black-and-white short featuring an objectively attractive woman and a whole cow tongue. I'm not going to get too deep into the specifics, but if Our First Porno is what Mel Brooks would produce in an exceptionally horny alternate timeline, then Lingus is what David Lynch would have made and then probably thought better of. Lingus is shocking, but it is neither intriguing nor erotic enough to cut through the feeling that this was crafted in an attempt to do little more than make audiences squirm, and that alone simply doesn't make the film stick with viewers in any meaningful way.

Sockslut

A demon tube sock terrorizes a horny otter.

Going into it: Oh shit yeah! I fucking love puppets. I mean, I don't love puppets, but, you know, if there are puppets involved in something I am at least 50% more likely to watch it, so there's that.

Getting into it: *I genuinely cannot read my own notes about this one. I don't know what "Slevoeking" is, but I wrote that down, so make of that what you will. Maybe the edibles hadn't worn off as much as I thought at this point during the festival. No one can really be sure. Another mystery lost to time (and recreational drug use).

Full (frontal) review: Sockslut is both everything I hoped it would be and nothing like what I was expecting. This isn't just a sentient sock assaulting a man trying to enjoy a brief moment of respite, this is full-blown body horror with a comedic bent. Sockslut might not be as funny as other shorts showcased at HUMP! 2025, yet that is only because it offers a more thrilling experience than any of the overtly comedic entries on the list. Sockslut is one of the few films from this year's festival that I would watch again, just as it is one of the few films I would not be surprised to see elsewhere.

UNBOUND

UNBOUND follows a disabled man’s journey of sexual discovery, challenging societal norms and prejudices to express his desires and identity. It explores his psyche and the conflict between his inner longing and the reality of how society perceives him. The film challenges the viewer to question how we desexualise disabled bodies and make judgements and misconceptions around disability and sex.

Going into it: Great. Another one that's going to make me real sad.

Getting into it: Yep, sad again. Waitminnit. Oh wow. That's some serious fucking. Good for him. Also good for her. Fuck it, good for everybody.

Full (frontal) review: UNBOUND starts out somber, slow, and careful. A man in a wheelchair is let loose from the literal ties that bind him, and as he is set free, the black-and-white setting is near-meticulously transformed into a neon-drenched landscape of unbridled passion. UNBOUND was, without any doubt, the perfect film to close out HUMP! 2025. It is both tender and frenetic. Burning with passion and a sense of intimacy that radiates off the screen. UNBOUND is not a mere case study in the sex lives of anyone dealing with a noticeable disability, it is a profound example of the fact that such disabilities are in no way the sexual hurdles that they are treated as by the general public. Apart from all of the technical and artistic achievements on display, UNBOUND is a success for that in and of itself.

And, as a personal aside for anyone who needs a reminder, all of us are already fated to either become disabled or die abruptly, so, y'know... You know.

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Now, for those wondering if the festival itself is going to get a full (frontal) review, HUMP! 2025 was a great experience overall, but I'm not sure I can say much more about it than that. The entire thing lasted around 75 minutes when it was billed as 120 minutes, which was actually great. I got to go do some other stuff with my wife, like discussing the films over coffee and comparing notes on each. At the same time, we were in an ordinary theater with a group of mostly ordinary people, so it isn't as though there is a whole lot to be said about the film festival as an experience. If there are any readers who think it might be of interest to them, check out the list of dates for HUMP! Film Festival 2025 right here. And, if there are any readers wondering, yeah, I probably will go back next year.

Stay weird and horny, y'all.