WATCH: A gay couple’s fears come true in conservative Egypt in this harrowing queer horror
The Judgment, a bone-chilling new feature from filmmaker Marwan Mokbel (Ouija Summoning) which employs supernatural scares with some very real fears that’ll surely resonate with queer audiences.Subscribe to our newsletter for your front-row seat to all things entertainment with a sprinkle of everything else queer.Egyptian-American couple Mo (Junes Zahdi) and Hisham (Freddy Shahin) have been living together happily in the States for some time.
But when a family emergency means they’ll need to spend a week in Egypt, they suddenly realize they’ll have to go back in the closet in order to keep the peace.Backed by a morally conservative government, the majority of Egyptian society still views homosexuality as a perversion, and while same-sex acts are not formally criminalized, there are a number of laws in place that make it especially easy target and prosecute the LGBTQ+ community.All of this is top of mind for Mo and Hisham as they make the trip to their home country, pretending to be friends when in mixed company.
They both still have family in Egypt, but Mo, in particular, is estranged from his, and hasn’t spoken to his mother in nine years.Already officials are calling for the Egyptian government to strip the director of his citizenship.Things quickly get tense when reports circulate of real-life lesbian activist, Sarah Hegazi, who met a tragic fate while in custody for flying a rainbow flag in public.
Moved, Mo posts a photo of himself and Hisham with a rainbow-colored filter on social media, which upsets Hisham who reveals he, too, still grapples with viewing their love as sin.But the nightmares are only just beginning.