Movie: They/Them (2022) Caution Spoiler Alert

 

They/Them

Came out; 2022

Time; 1 hour 44 Minutes

Watched: Peacock

Rated: TV-MA

IMDB Rating; 4/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 33%

Popcorn Meter 26%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Kevin Bacon as Owen

Theo Germaine as Jordan

Anna Chlumsky as Molly

Carrie Preston as Cora

Quei Tann as Alexandra

Austin Crute as Toby

Anna Love as Kim

Monique Kim as Veronica

Cooper Coch as Stu

Darwin del Fabro as Gabriel

Hayley Griffith as Sarah

Boone Platt as Zane

Story Line;

Whistler, a gay conversion camp, has been in operation by the same family going back generations. Currently the camp is operated by Owen Whistler (Kevin Bacon) and his wife, Dr. Cora Whistler (Carrie Preston). The Whistlers have a small staff of four: activities director Amy, her gay-conversion-camp-alumni-turned-athletics-director boyfriend Zane, groundskeeper Balthazar, and Molly--the camp counselor who uncovers the horrors of Whistler Camp at the bequest of camper Jordan. A fifth employee emerges as a decoy within the campers. Suddenly, employees are picked off in a murder streak by an unknown assailant

Thoughts:

This wasn't bad. It starts with a good murder but stops a bit there.

The horror part comes in the form of torture. Places like this still exist and are so wrong.

It took until almost the end to figure out the who, it came together nicely

The plot was good, the acting and the scenery. It was a fairly decent slasher movie

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

At night, a mysterious figure kills a person driving to a conversion camp known as Whistler Camp. In the morning, a group of LGBTQ youth arrive at Whistler Camp, run by Owen Whistler. He introduces the camp as an inclusive safe space and promises that they will not try to forcibly convert them. Owen separates the campers into cabins for boys and girls, but Jordan, who is non-binary, is not comfortable going to either. Owen assigns Jordan to the boys' cabin. The group comes together in a circle and shares why they came to Whistler Camp. Jordan says they made a deal with their religious family to attend for a week so they could legally emancipate themself. The next morning, Owen criticizes and outs another member, Alexandra, for not sharing that she is trans. He makes her go to the boys' cabin for dishonesty. Alexandra later convinces the camp's new nurse, Molly, to give her estradiol, an estrogen hormone.

The group partakes in activities overseen by former member and athletics director Zane and his fiancée, activities director Sarah. One night, Owen splits the group into pairs, handcuffing them together, and instructs them to walk into the woods alone. The group is hesitant, but Owen promises that they will regroup in the morning. Jordan and Alexandra see a mysterious person in the woods. The next day, the camp's therapist, Dr. Cora Whistler, belittles members of the group for their sexualities and gender identities, including Jordan. Affected by Dr. Cora's words, Jordan returns to the boy's cabin upset but is cheered up when the group hosts a dance party to "Perfect" by Pink. That night, Jordan sneaks into the main office and discovers photographs that show the history of Whistler Camp, including the torturing of children. Jordan is caught by Molly, who says she did not know and promises to protect the group. The camp's groundskeeper, Balthazar, is killed by the mysterious figure while observing the girls showering through a spy cam.

The next day, the group is divided by gender. Owen takes the boys to a shooting range while the girls make pies for the boys. Jordan defeats Zane in a shooting competition. Owen reverts to calling Jordan "he" instead of "they". Owen instructs Toby, a gay man, to shoot Owen's dog, Duke, because Duke has cancer. If he refuses to do so, Zane will start to torture Duke by breaking the dog's legs. Jordan kills Duke instead and storms off. Jordan, Alexandra, and Toby agree to leave Whistler Camp in the morning. Gabriel seduces Stu and they have sex before Gabriel calls Owen and Zane, revealing he secretly works for Whistler Camp. They punish Stu with aversion therapy, a form of electroshock torture that Owen says will make Stu heterosexual. Upon finding Stu unconscious, Molly quits and says she will go to the police. Owen threatens her to stay. The mysterious figure butchers Zane and Sarah and fatally electrocutes Gabriel.

Every person at Whistler Camp comes together after finding the dead bodies. The murderer kills Cora. Alexandra leads the younger members out of the camp. The murderer reveals herself to be Molly. Her real name is Angie Phelps. She murdered the real Molly to take her place as the camp nurse. Angie attended Whistler Camp and was tortured there by Owen. She made it her mission to close every conversion camp in existence by killing the complicit employees. Angie attacks Owen but is unable to gain the upper hand. Jordan takes Owen's gun but does not shoot, giving Angie the opportunity to kill Owen herself. Angie tries talking Jordan into helping her, but Jordan refuses. The police arrest Angie. The group agrees to live their lives to the fullest.