Review: Summoning Sylvia

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

Summoning Sylvia
Directed by Wesley Taylor; Alex Wyse
Cody Lassen and Associates; Diamond Dog Entertainment; Book of Spell; Entertainment Squad
74 minutes, 2023
www.summoningsylvia.com/

Perhaps it is the timing of hateful homophobia coming out of the Right side of North American politics that there seems to be a welcome sticking-out-of-tongues (metaphorically) by the rise of lavish LGBTQetc.-focused cinema. Some recently are DisorientingDick (2022), and RuPaul’s AJ and the Queen (2020). So, why should a horror comedy be left out?

Noah J. Ricketts, Troy Iwata, Travis Coles, Frankie Grande

After an incredibly brief prologue, through flashback we meet four friends, Larry (Travis Coles), Nico (Frankie Grande), Reggie (Troy Iwata) and Kevin (Noah J. Ricketts), as they surprise Larry, newly engaged to Jamie (Michael Urie), with a Bachelor Weekend vay-cay to a supposedly haunted house in New Jersey, a couple of hours from New York City. It was originally owned a century before by the murderous titular Sylvia (Veanne Cox). After they get comfortable (e.g., dancing around), what they intend to do is, well, the title.

Sylvia was killed by an angry mob after she was known for murdering her own son, Phillip (Camden Garcia), burying him on the estate, who is also resurrected during said séance. She was trying to keep Phillip a secret, and I am guessing why, and also how this feeds into future actions by her spirit. [Note: happily, I was only partially correct.]

Nicholas Logan

After the séance and late (and unwanted by the group) to the party is Harrison (Nicholas Logan), Jamie’s very cis bro who is in the military who Larry has never met. “Culture” shock abounds in many humorous ways as both Harrison and the four live very different lifestyles, of which each group do not understand the other. Larry is trying his best to be a bit macho (and failing), and hoping everyone gets along.

One aspect worth noting is that in many films, including ones dealing in the horror genre, there tends to be a collection of cis roles, and one or two “third wheel” gay characters, such as in All Your Friends Are Dead (2023), but here it is in reverse.

Veanne Cox

The direction and cinematography is generally quite straightforward, but there are outstanding moments where the editing of two different scenes, or mixing of flashbacks with the present, that have really nice comedic overtures.

It is debatable where there is more tension: between the spirits and the humans, or the cis and the gays. Is Harrison related to DeSantis? But my real question is, Harrison’s brother, Jamie, is overtly out and gay, and Jamie picked Harrison to be the best man. Wouldn’t Harrison have some level of understanding or compassion about gender differences if he was chosen for this role? Instead, he is presented as a homophobe hardass (I can see where this is going). Like some “chick flicks” (a term of which I am not fond) where all the males (except maybe one or two) are assholes, here it is clear which side of the coin the filmmakers are on. Thing is, they are not wrong depicting many on the Right side of politics.

The ending has a number of twists and turns to a very satisfying conclusion. The film is smartly written, well acted, and funny as hell, without being overly broad (no pun intended).

 

This is definitely Cole’s picture with his Larry being the glue that holds everything together, but many scenes are outright stolen by Grande, who says so much with the purse of the lips, or especially one with his blinks.

There is very little blood, little violence (with more implied), and some romping, but no lower nudity. This is surprisingly satisfying despite the various directions the story takes, and does not follow a path one expects from these (haunting) kinds of films.

I am sure, as a cis Ally, I am missing a few references here and there, and yet found it just so enjoyable. Nothing turns out like it is expected, and every time something ends up being something else, it makes perfect sense (considering ghosts and all) for both the story and the characters.

Just the right length, this film is closer in tone to To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) than, say, The Boys in the Band (1970), considering that in Wong Foo, cis actors play gay characters. It is a hoot, and totally enjoyable from beginning to end for boys and girls of all sizes.

IMDB listing HERE

Review: Death Drop Gorgeous

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020

Images from the Internet

Death Drop Gorgeous

Directed by Michael J. Ahern, Christopher Dalpe and Brandon Perras-Sanchez

104 minutes, 2020

www.deathdropgorgeous.com/

Wow, there is getting to be a whole, new subgenre in the horror field (of course it is in the independent realm) centered around the LGBTQ+(etc.) market. I’m enjoying watching the number of films expand. There was a time when if there was a gay character, they were either there for “comedy relief,” or if it were a drama, they had to die by the end (The Children’s Hour, arguably A Separate Peace, etc.).

Christopher Dalpe, Wayne Gonsalves

On the other hand, shows like “Queer Eye” (2003) and various Ru Paul projects (including “AJ and the Queen”) have helped open up the mass culture to the positive side of drag queens. Personally, I believe this acceptance is also a larger backlash against anti-gay nonsense from televangelists and bullies like the Westboro Church. Drag queens have always been cool, but the mass populace is only recently getting wind of that perfume.

But now, and rightfully so, the Pride pride of lions have pulled out their claws, shaved their manes, added some powder, and have started to reclaim their own cinema paths, in this case in the slasher vein.

Michael McAdam

For this tale, after the prologue kill (straight or gay, the slasher tropes gods must be satisfied and there will be sacrifices), Dwayne (Wayne Gonsalves) has just moved back to Providence, RI (which has a very thriving gay community in real life as well as reel life), and to celebrate a new position as a bartender, he and effeminate pal Brian (Christopher Dalpe) go out to that same cleverly named drag bar, the Aut Haus (pronounced “Out House”), run by mafioso type Tony Two Fingers (Brandon Perras-Sanchez), who seems to be in constant screaming profanity mode.

Following a murder, two sketchy bear detectives, who use multiple homophobic slurs, are on the case: Detective O’Hara (Michael J. Ahern) and Detective Barry (Sean Murphy). Their closeness hints that even though they may be straight, there is something subtly going on with these two which is never explicitly explored. They are just two of the many interesting characters we get to meet along the way to the multiple slaughters, such as wonderfully deadpan Tragedi (Matthew Cicero aka Complete Destruction), washed up and aging alcoholic Gloria Hole (Michael McAdam), and bitch-in-a-bucket Janet Fitness (Matthew Pidge), who has the great line on the poster: “If you’re going to have two faces, at least make one of them pretty.” There is a large cast in this small production, but I’ll discuss more of that later.

Sean Murphy and Michael J. Ahern

One of the things I like about this production is that drag queens are playing the drag queens, rather than non-professionals filling a role. In the credits, we see the non-drag and drag names of the actors, such as the wonderful Johnny Sederquist, who is professionally known as Ninny Nothin.

While this is a very small film with an even tinier budget, it is also big, loud, and proud. This is especially notable in that this was created by essentially a crew of five people (three of them co-directors and writers), and a cast from the Providence area (I recognized more than one from another local filmmaker’s releases) that is filled with affection and quite a bit of on-screen bitchiness (which I found a tad stereotypical, though I fully admit I have only touched the drag world rather than immersed in it). There is also a noticeably short and extremely bright-eyed cameo by Linnea Quigley near the end that made me smile, as scream queens more than drag queens are something about which I have a bit of knowledge, especially from her generation (but I digress…).

Complete Destruction

The gore is plentiful and explicit, being extremely graphic without being pornographic…though one scene does come quite close. It’s beautiful to watch and revel in the flow of the red, in a kind of retelling of an old Hungarian legend. Again, considering the budgetary constraints, this film actually has quite a large body count, in various forms of dress, undressed, and dressed to kill. That includes a couple of characters that come as a surprise, and I found kind of emotional.

While this is mostly played for drama, there is a real spark of humor throughout, more so in dialogue, which is often done in throwaway lines that, if you catch it, can definitely make you laugh. One example is Brian saying to Dwayne, “You can stay here as long as you like. Especially since now you have a job.” If you’re looking for witty and catty Bette Davis-level insults, you’ve come to the right place.

Matthew Pidge

 For a new cinematic cabal, I was truly pleasantly surprised by how well they worked together, and how professional the output was. Sure, the acting is a bit over the top here and there, but there were quite a few gems, like Cicero and Dalpe, both of whom play characters that are initially a bit on the annoying side, but by half-way in, you’re hoping to see them pop up again. There is even some character development with some of the cast, and that is hard to find in a slasher, again, especially with this high a body count.

I am really hoping that this troupe finds financing to keep going, because if this is the level in which they start, maybe they can take the viewer to somewhere over the rainbow.