Ganymede

With its uninspired storyline, clichéd horror elements, and lackluster acting, "Ganymede" is a disappointingly mediocre and outdated addition to this year's LGBT film collection.

The film centers on Lee Fletcher, a sensitive high school athlete grappling with his conservative, Evangelical parents who impose traditional gender roles on him. Lee's poorly developed and rushed crush on his openly gay classmate, Kyle, is depicted through the bizarre and uninspired appearance of a literal gay demon. This attempt at incorporating "creepy" horror elements into an otherwise dull coming-of-age drama occasionally resembles a low-budget, cheesy Christian film. The predictable plot, shallow characterization, and awkward dialogue make the movie more cringeworthy than campy.

While films like Sam H. Freeman's intense gay thriller "Femme (2023)" suggest that higher standards for homoerotic cinema are emerging, "Ganymede" stands as a regrettable and, despite its surprisingly favorable reviews, overrated step backward.

One would think that with releases like Sam H. Freeman's harrowing gay thriller "Femme- (2023)", directors have sought to set a higher standard for homoerotic movies, but this film proves to be an unfortunate, and based on its suspiciously well-received reviews, an overrated setback.

I did not expect much when selecting this movie on Amazon prime but it really surprised me! "Ganymede" presents a compelling fusion of coming-of-age narrative with elements of mystery/horror. Jordan Doww delivers a powerful performance, effectively conveying the protagonist's internal conflict, complemented by a strong supporting role from Pablo Castelblanco. The directors demonstrate adept skill by using elements of horror to explore relevant social issues which are not widely known, notably motivated by religious extremism, next to the journey toward self-acceptance of the adolescences. Even though the movie is obviously fictional, I really liked that they explain at the end of the movie that gay conversion therapy is in fact a massive issue we face in today's society.

This movie does what a lot of coming out stories do not. It really highlights the struggle a lot of kids from religious families will go through when discovering their sexual identity. You will often see in these films the fear, betrayal, and hatred of others, but the self hatred, self doubt, and inner demons are so much more powerful than outside hatred. Even when the outside love and support is so vocal, the inner monologue can really drown these loving voices out. Great way to tell the story of kids that are so often forgotten about when we say things like "coming out isn't even a big deal anymore".

All this being said, the movie also has a lot of loving and light moments to it. Even some comedic aspects are thrown in, which are very much needed for such a sensitive topic.

The actors also understood their assignments. From super serious to very bubbly personalities, you get to see it all, and see how these types of people react to the gossip of someone coming out. Something for everyone to relate to in this movie.

While Ganymede isn't an Oscar worthy film by any means, it isn't the worst film I've ever seen. The acting is good and script is decent. Jordan Doww is a stand out (in my opinion) as a young closeted gay man struggling with the need to repress everything about himself. David Koechner's preacher character is so eerily believable that you almost forget he's the same actor from Ron Burgundy. The only character I had an issue with is Kyle. I felt he was far too self-absorbed and annoyingly persistent that I ended up hating him in the end. The thing that affected me the most about this film is that attempts to "fix" young homosexual men is still a relevant topic today and that's scarier to me than any horror character.

This film feels like something shot in the early 1980s, then put on a shelf and forgotten about until now.

Back then it might have been sort of edgy, but today it just feels dated and melodramatic. The characters are either creepy or corny (with the notable exception of Kyle's mother), and the relationship between Lee and Kyle feels very rushed. Letting the audience know that the now high school seniors met as freshmen was a very ineffective shortcut.

Overall, the subject matter was quite relevant, but the writing and execution lacked any real substance. Lastly, the laughable "horror" effects (costumes by Spirit Halloween?) should have been nixed completely. If you don't have the budget for effects, don't do them.