Hand Gag Hall of Fame My favorite form of restraint is also the simplest: covering a man's mouth tightly with your hand, rendering him unable to cry for help or even object to his captivity. The ultimate power move. So I decided to make a list of my favorite hand gag scenes from my movies. The list spans nearly two decades, from the very first movie I made to my most recent production. All of these guys deserve a hand.

# 1: Uninvited This will probably not come as a huge surprise to anyone, since Uninvited has two undeniably classic hand gags. First, hand gag MVP Darrion is silenced by his boyfriend (in real life as well as on screen) while they engage in some BDSM play. Their uninvited guest is watching everything and later delivers the double hand gag that you can see at the top of this page. This rare double play clinched the number one spot. See the Video

# 2: Bagged When I appear in one of my movies, I usually write a hand gag for myself, and this one is my favorite. Justin and I always had fun, and in Bagged I get to cover his already taped mouth while I talk on the phone. You can see that extra degree of frustration and helplessness in Justin's eyes, and I love it. See the Video

# 3: Jock-Napped One of my favorite hand gag scenarios are those in which the hero is silenced just before saying something crucial. In Jock-Napped, I created two situations that cried out for a hand gag (or at least tried to cry out, before being muffled). First, the Ransom Brothers' brainwashed buddy Jeff is prevented from alerting the mad scientist that the young detectives are there. Later, after one of the brothers finds the code word that will break Jeff's trance, he is stopped by Jeff's hand over his mouth. This scene also gave rise to one of my favorite moments. We didn't have a bandanna or handkerchief handy to use as a gag, so Jeff volunteered to strip off his shirt and use it to gag his friend, resulting in some extra eye candy as well as an effective gag. See the Video

# 4: The Champion In this tribute to Shazam comics, the hero's best friend gets abducted after soccer practice, silenced with a firm hand over his mouth. Responding to his muffled cries, the hero comes to the rescue, only to get captured himself. The actor being hand-gagged puts up a convincing struggle, and his captor is equally determined to keep him quiet. See the Scene

# 5: Sleeper Agents This installment from the Spy-Napped series involves one of my favorite variations of hand gags: the victim (the always gaggable Darrion) is already gagged but needs to be kept even quieter with a hand over his taped mouth. The hand in this case belongs to one of our best villains, Connor. This one also has an extra level of suspense, since Darrion is trying to warn his partner in the next room to watch out for a trap. Sadly, he is unable to make himself heard, and both agents end up captured. See the Scene

# 6: Hitchhiker's Odyssey My version of the Odyssey starts with a hand gag scene, but it really gets going when I get to the Sirens -- represented here by the evil DJ Psiren, who produces literal trance music to enslave young men. His acolytes go out to find other victims, ensuring their silence as they are captured. See the Scene

# 7: Camp Fear Horror movies tend to have a lot of hand gag moments. The first hand gag I ever remember seeing on a big screen was this scene from Friday the 13th 3D,, and by far the best hand gag I ever saw on screen was this one in American Werewolf in Paris. So when I made my tribute to 80s slasher films, I had to include a hand gag scene, and this one turned out really well. See the Scene

# 8: Secret Society This scene has a lot of my favorite elements. First off, these guys were wonderful to be around. Billy became a close friend for years, as did Kevin and Patrick, who later got married to each other. And they rip open his shirt, which is always hot. It's also a very long scene, and they keep him quiet for a while before gagging him with the shreds of his T-shirt (one of my favorite ways to gag someone). And of course, bonus points for the black leather glove. See the Scene

# 9: Dial K for Kidnapping This is Darrion's first appearance on the list, but it definitely won't be the last. That boy really liked to be hand-gagged. This scene is a classic ambush, with the kidnapper lying in wait. We actually shot this in my living room, where I am sitting as I write this. Still a perfect place to take someone by surprise. See the Scene

# 10: Do Not Disturb I improvised this simple script with friends who were visiting, using their hotel room. The crucial moment was the poor, unsuspecting hotel manager being grabbed from behind, silenced with a firm hand over his protesting mouth. Bonus points for the black glove. See the Scene