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

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.

Last week I came across an ad for the HUMP! Film Festival, which was billed as a collection of erotic short films. Last week I also bought tickets for the HUMP! Film Festival before doing too much reading into the event, which was definitely a mistake on my part. This isn't to say that I'm a cishet man with a whole lot of sexual hang-ups, but I did have my concerns once I realized exactly what I was getting myself and my near-infinitely patient partner into.

Unsurprisingly, I decided to take the opportunity to review both my experience and all 22 short films that were selected for this year's HUMP! Film Festival. Partially because that seems like the thing to do when I'm already writing reviews elsewhere, and partially because bringing a notebook seemed like a good excuse to not look at the screen should things get a little too intense.

Now, for those not in the know (like me about a week ago), the HUMP! Film Festival has been going on since 1987, and offers filmmakers of every skill level an opportunity to showcase their best erotic short-form work around the world. There are, of course, certain rules that filmmakers must adhere to (2-5 minutes, no minors, no animals, no poop), but otherwise participants are free to explore the bounds of sexuality in about any way they can imagine.

In an effort to properly convey my experience at this year's HUMP! Film Festival, each film (and the festival itself) will be examined in three parts: Going into it, Getting into it, and a Full (frontal) review. Each of these will offer my thoughts before, during, and after each entry, and will hopefully help you, dear reader, to understand what I, your hapless critic, understand exactly what HUMP! is all about. Please note that both "Going into it" and "Getting into it" are stream-of-thought, and not necessarily indicative of final review of any given entry.

HUMP! Film Festival 2025

Going into it: Alright, so I definitely should have read the ad better. Or the website. Or even just scrolled to the bottom of the homepage and seen that there was a description of each film available. Oh man, some of these sound rough. That's okay, though, because I already bought the tickets and scheduled the babysitter. Fuck it. We're doing this.

Getting into it: This surprisingly nice theater is in the basement of an unsurprisingly shitty mall. Man, there are a lot of people here. Oh shit, they sold out? This is a way bigger deal than I thought. And they have rules? No poop?! Nice. That was my number one concern. Ah, fuck, the edibles are hitting way too early. It's okay. I can do this. Also, what the fuck is that scarf? That guy has to have friends who tried to stop him from wearing that, right?

A Quick Fix

Housewife April Flores' washing machine breaks down. When dykey plumber Manon Praline arrives, April turns on her bimbo charm, and reveals her real intentions. Soon Manon is sliding into April's velvet robe, and she wants that wrench where?!

Going into it: This sounds (potentially) hilarious.

Getting into it: Awwww, cute. They love each other. Also at least one of them loves that wrench. And they figured out why the washing machine wasn't working? Fantastic.

Full (frontal) review: A Quick Fix was definitely the correct choice in terms of an opening short for HUMP! 2025, as it is likely the safest selection in the lineup. The film is very amateur, but also endearing, and not just for the fact that it is an homage to the kind of '70s/'80s pornography that largely defined adult films stereotypes. The chemistry between A Quick Fix's two leads is unmistakable, and lends the film a genuine charm that is almost heartwarming. A Quick Fix is also a great example of safe sex, even if getting fucked with a wrench might not sound all that safe in and of itself.

Beautiful Bae

Kali and Bishop always have a beautiful time whenever they see each other. This is a short film that displays their intimacy and love for one another.

Going into it: Is this going to be influencer porn? Is that a thing?

Getting into it: Oh this is definitely influencer porn? But, for good?

Full (frontal) review: Beautiful Bae is definitely influencer porn, or at least that is the best description that I can come up with for it. I'm all but certain this was filmed on someone's phone, not because that was the only option, but because that would capture the carefully crafted aesthetic on display. While Beautiful Bae looks like a home movie, it feels like a film that was plotted out beat-by-beat in order to provide viewers the most widely palatable version of an adult film possible. Beautiful Bae isn't bad, but it is uninteresting, as I cannot fathom any real couple (or regular sexual fuck buddies) having sex like that. At the same time, Beautiful Bae is maybe the best example of enthusiastic consent out of any film at HUMP! 2025, and for that it deserves to be commended.

Drone

A cyberpunk bounty hunter chases, catches, and tortures her target in this trans-on-trans SciFi horror/thriller!

Going into it: I am scaroused.

Getting into it: wut

Full (frontal) review: I'm honestly not totally sure what anyone was going for here. Drone is full of abrupt jump-cuts, awkward camera angles, sudden lens changes, and close-ups of what I think is supposed to be foreplay. While I wouldn't call Drone disinteresting in the same way that I described Beautiful Bae, I would call it disinteresting in its own way. Rather than feeling like a storyboarded porn developed to hit all the right marks on some unseen algorithm, Drone feels like it was cobbled together from a handful of sequences that were haphazardly cut and edited together. As much as viewers can pick up on the cyberpunk/sci-fi influences, the purported horror/thriller bounty hunter narrative mentioned in the logline for Drone is nowhere to be seen.

Flick the Bean

It’s Fondra Farce’s Slumber Party and all sluts are invited! Lez warm up those hands, fingers & arms! Time to flick! Suck! Lick! Fuck! and FIST the bean! Listen to Fondra’s vulva sing & learn to put your whole hand & your hole heart into it!

Going into it: Haha... Wait, fist the what?

Getting into it: Oh I've seen this music video... Seriously? It is?! This is actually a music video? Oh my god, I was joking, but okay. Oh man, this is pretty great. Oh no, I'm peaking. Goddammit, I knew I should have waited to eat those gummies.

Full (frontal) review: Listen, I don't know who Fondra Farce is or why she's surrounded by a chorus of scantily clad backup singers, but Flick the Bean is a testament to the sheer talent of everyone involved. The production values aren't the highest, but the effort absolutely is. Individual moments feel inspired by other works, but never to the point that they feel derivative. All things considered, Flick the Bean is perhaps the most fun entry from this year's HUMP! Film Festival, even if it is unlikely to be hailed by anyone as the most cinematic, high-brow, or emotionally important.

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Alright, this feels like a pretty good stopping place for now. You can check out Part Two and Part Three right here on Vocal and don't forget to stay hydrated.