- Directed by Wesley Taylor, Alex Wyse
- Written by Wesley Taylor, Alex Wyse
- Stars Travis Coles, Frankie Grande, Troy Iwata, Noah J. Rickets
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 14 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkUDvhmRaNY
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
It’s mostly a fun party of a movie with some scarier moments as a group of guys explore a mystery from the past. Is there really the ghost of an evil, murdering woman at work here? Gotta watch to find out. Overall, we thought it was well-made and worth the watch.
Synopsis
A bunch of obviously gay men sit around a seance table and do a spell. They all start screaming, and we cut to six hours earlier as the group brings Larry, blindfolded, to a house for his “bachelor party” before marrying Jamie. They’ve rented the place for the whole weekend, and yes, it’s supposed to be haunted. One hundred years ago, Sylvia Lawrence went mad and killed her son, Philip, in cold blood. Someone then executed Sylvia in that very house just a few hours later. Philip’s body was never found. Nico says he brought his crystal ball and spell book. They all want to have a seance. Credits roll.
Larry calls Jamie, who didn’t even know he was going away for the weekend. Larry, who was supposed to spend the day with Jamie’s soldier brother, Harrison, tries to leave, but Reggie stops him. Larry suggests that Harrison come and spend the weekend there instead.
We cut back to where we started as the four guys begin their seance. They stop and sing show tunes. They finally get around to summoning Sylvia. Suddenly, they hear banging, and they all freak out, but it’s just Harrison at the door. Harrison’s a tough former soldier who’s really uptight and really, really straight. The other guys think Reggie hired a stripper. Awkward!
The presence of very-straight Harrison puts a damper on the other guys’ plans. We get a glimpse of dead-Sylvia watching the group and scolding Philip. She talks about her meat cleaver and what it must feel like to “cleave flesh” with it.
Harrison and Larry talk about things, and it’s clear that Harrison is uncomfortable about the whole arrangement. The guys want to include Harrison in their activities, but Larry thinks Harrison wouldn’t/couldn’t participate in their things. Then they all start hearing banging inside the walls, which is odd.
Suddenly, the lights go out, and the banging intensifies. Nico yells, “It worked!” It all gets pretty hectic, mostly due to the guys flipping out. No one told Harrison that the house is supposed to be haunted, and he’s not happy.
Jamie calls, and Larry tells him that his brother has been drinking. Jamie says he’s on the way; Harrison can get violent when he gets drunk.
The guys find a photo of Philip and his… boyfriend. That explains why Sylvia killed him: Sylvia didn’t like gay men and killed them both. Now, there are four queens in the house, and Sylvia may not be done yet.
The pizza guy shows up, but everyone is hiding. Nico comes out and thinks he’s Philip the ghost. He gives him the whole “You don’t have to hide anymore” speech and the pizza guy is all in on it. This leads to mistaken-identity sex.
Harrison may or may not be possessed by Sylvia, but he passes out, and the guys tie him up. The four guys sit down at the table and try an exorcism spell. Harrison wakes up and flips out, so they gag him.
We get a flashback to Sylvia and Philip, and we see what really happened. The angry mob was coming for Philip and his boyfriend, and Sylvia gave him instructions to escape. She goes out and tells the crowd that Philip is dead. She was actually protecting her son and wasn’t evil at all.
Meanwhile, Harrison, who wasn’t possessed at all, gets loose and has the meat cleaver. Harrison breaks down and explains his point of view of the whole evening; he’s just lost because suddenly his brother is gay and getting gay married, and he’s never known any gay people and doesn’t know what to do. The landlord calls and tells them about the water hammering thing that makes all the noises they hear and electrical problems that make the lights go out sometimes. They all come to the conclusion that there are no ghosts in the house at all. Everyone clears the air about all the nastiness that went on earlier.
Everyone dresses up, puts on wigs, and they do a drag show, even Harrison. Jamie arrives just in time to catch them all in the act. He screams when he sees Sylvia and Phillip standing there, who also screams seeing him before vanishing.
Commentary
It was cool how they smoothly transitioned between things happening in the present and what happened in the past in the same rooms. The characters here may be a little over the top, but they’re all fun, and the basic situation is definitely awkward and uncomfortable. It’s got way more gay jokes than scares here, but it’s all well done.
Wow. Very strange.