‘They/Them’ Review: Peacock’s Gay Conversion Camp Slasher Suffers From an Identity Crisis
Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticPronouns matter more than gore or suspense in “They/Them,” a tepid flip-the-script horror movie whose title doubles as its logline when you say the “slash” out loud.
Set at a janky gay conversion camp, this Blumhouse-produced, Peacock-released LGBT empowerment exercise presents itself as a cross between “Friday the 13th” and “But I’m a Cheerleader.” Alas, it’s so committed to affirmational messages about queer identity not being a choice, a condition or a legitimate motive to get axed by a deranged serial killer, that the movie all but forgets to be scary — although enlisting Kevin Bacon as too-genial-to-be-trusted camp overseer Owen Whistler nearly makes it work.“I wanted my favorite genre to celebrate who I was, so I wrote this movie,” openly gay writer-director John Logan told the closing-night crowd of Outfest — the first audience to see his well-intentioned but poorly executed feature directing debut.
Fine, but since when does horror celebrate anything? The genre is most effective when it identifies and exploits our fears, whereas “They/Them” demonstrates how a little social consciousness can suck all the drama out of the equation.
In an effort not to treat gay and gender-nonconforming characters as victims, the movie gives us no reason to fear for their safety.
