Two films, two wildly different stories about the horrors of gay conversion therapy
films that examine the horrors of conversion therapy—some of which take the “horror” angle quite literally, like Peacock’s 2022 slasher They/Them.While that film *spoiler* flipped the script and allowed the queer kids at a conversion camp to be the heroes of their story, it wasn’t especially warmly received, proving how difficult it can be to sufficiently tackle such harrowing subject matter in media.But that hasn’t stopped others from trying!
In fact, just this week, we learned about two more upcoming movies about conversion therapy—both of which seem to take very different approaches to showing what makes the practice so dangerous and damaging.From shocking documentaries to a cult comedy classic, these movies explore the dark realities of gay conversion therapy.First up is another attempt at making literal the horrors of conversion: Indie filmmaker Quinn Armstrong’s The Exorcism Of Saint Patrick.In the film, young pastor Pat (Steve Binder) takes gay teen Trick (Michael J.
Cline) to a remote cabin for an intensive one-on-one therapy treatment. But when Pat’s harsh methods bully Trick into taking his own life, the “man of faith” is surprised to find the spirit of the teen has stuck around—as well as the ghosts of many other conversion victims, hungry for vengeance.Clearly, The Exorcism Of Saint Patrick‘s blunt and bloody take won’t be for everyone, but Armstrong’s film is intent on pointing the finger at the hundreds of pastors and church officials who conduct conversion therapy and other homophobic acts under the guise of their religious beliefs.
Its central teen Trick may suffer a dark fate, though Pastor Pat is going to have to repent for his sins—and it’s going to get ugly.Interestingly, Exorcism is the first of three films that make up the writer-director’s upcoming Fresh Hell trilogy, each taking a clever approach to modern-day horrors, like the neo-Nazi monster movie Wolves Against The World and Dead Teenagers, which provides a new spin on the “cabin in the.
