THE documentary “Sex Positive” revis its the horror years of the AIDS outbreak — and how gays themselves refused to face reality.

Centered on a New York City prostitute named Richard Berkowitz, the movie is unusually frank as it examines how gay men initially resisted the notion that promiscuity was a major factor in the spread of the disease. Berkowitz was among the first to promote condoms and safe sex to gays to whom condoms were a completely foreign idea.

For gays who remember the nightmare, “Sex Positive” may be too depressing to watch. But the movie strikes a cautionary tone for a younger generation that, it says, isn’t taking the HIV threat seriously.

Running time: 75 minutes. R (strong sexual content including graphic dialogue and images, profanity) At the Quad, 13th Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues.