Chemsex, film review: How synthetic drug use has rocketed in London's gay community

(18)​ William Fairman, Max Gogarty, 80 mins

Over a calendar year, the film-makers invited gay men to discuss their experiences

This grimly fascinating doc, made for the website VICE, looks at the way synthetic drug use in London's gay community has rocketed, mirrored by the HIV-positive rate. Over a calendar year, the film-makers invited gay men to discuss their experiences.

What becomes apparent is that sex and drugs have become intertwined. "The average number of partners… between five and 15 people per weekend," one interviewee notes of how promiscuity has risen.

The filmmakers, having gained very intimate access, deal in a questioning but sympathetic fashion with the "chemsex" phenomenon and with the largely unacknowledged health emergency it has caused.