A beautiful blend of Southern Gothic horror and coming-of-age drama, “Ganymede” explores the pressures to conform and the power of love.
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I’ve said it many times before. Forget demons, monsters, and supernatural terrors; nothing is more terrifying than the real-life horrors of humanity.
Ganymede begins in scenic, small-town America on a hot summer day in the deep South. A man smokes a cigarette in front of a picturesque lake. As the camera pans down, we see that he’s got bricks chained around his waist. He begins to walk to the pier’s edge toward the water, his devastating intent obvious.
It will be some time before we learn who he is and what has driven him to this point of desperation.
A quick cut introduces us to a handsome teen running along the trail near the same lake. He jumps in and sees something that terrifies him, something we aren’t yet privy to.
That boy is star athlete Lee Fletcher (out actor Jordan Doww), son of the county commissioner known as Big Lee (Joe Chrest; Stranger Things, Assassination Nation). Big Lee and his dutiful wife, Floy Fletcher (Robyn Lively; Teen Witch, Into the Dark), are deeply religious. It’s the kind of unforgiving Southern Baptist religion that demands a rigid adherence to doctrine.
We see this played out during a Sunday sermon when Pastor Royer (the always engrossing David Koechner; Anchorman, Vicious Fun) rails about the dangers of homosexuality and woke politics.
The message is far from loving, full of rage and fear-mongering.
When he pleads, “Bring us back to that old-time religion,” it sounds awfully close to “Make America great again.”
Of course, in this world of spiritual hypocrisy, the sins of some (like cheating on your loving wife with your much younger assistant) are easily forgivable. In contrast, others are persecuted and damned for the sin of loving a member of the same sex.
In this pressure cooker of performative morality, Lee befriends fellow classmate Kyle (Pablo Castelblanco) while the two are doing some volunteer community service—Lee because his dad makes him and Kyle because he hopes to get closer to Lee.
Kyle is openly queer. Though some of the other students mercilessly tease him for his sexuality, he benefits from having a loving and supportive single mother. On this day, however, some of his abusers spot him working alone with Lee and take the opportunity to taunt and bully him aggressively.
Lee stands up to the boys, punching the ringleader Justin Farkle (Brady Gentry) in the nose, greatly amplifying Kyle’s crush on Lee.
The two develop a close friendship that soon blossoms into romantic feelings.
As Lee struggles to reconcile his sexuality with his oppressive upbringing, he begins to see visions of a terrifying demon.
These visions serve as a manifestation of his guilt and fear and the hatred he feels for himself—a hatred he’s been conditioned to have.
Compounding his trauma is his parents’ behavior when they discover Kyle in Lee’s bedroom, with the two boys looking closer than they should. His dad is furious, while his well-meaning mom is terrified of how Lee will be perceived and treated, especially by his own father. Big Lee tells his son not to upset his mother because when she’s upset, she becomes a liability. This is a telling indication of what matters most to Big Lee: his own ego and social standing.
As Lee’s visions become more horror-filled and haunting, Big Lee calls in the big guns.
Pastor Royer arrives at the family home, bemoans the oppression he faces for being a proud Christian in a deeply religious Southern town, and explains that God won’t let Lee live if he’s an unrepentant homosexual.
He calls Kyle a demonic Ganymede (a term derived from Greek mythology that later became a symbol for the beautiful young male who attracted homosexual desire and love), says homosexuality isn’t real, and offers a barbaric solution: brutal conversion therapy involving electroshock therapy.
How does he know the twisted tactics will work? It just so happens that ol’ Pastor Royer is a “recovering” homosexual himself.
It turns out that Pastor Royer is harboring bigger secrets than that, and he’s not the only one. In fact, many of those quick to judge Lee and Kyle are dealing with their own inner demons and skeletons in the closet.
Lee begins to unravel, and the creature stalking him becomes increasingly menacing.
Meanwhile, his father doubles down on cruelty and indifference. He blames Floy for not being stronger and for tainting Lee’s genetics; her older brother was openly gay. Unthinkably, he describes his son as deformed due to his sexuality.
Some scenes are beyond heartbreaking, as Gaynemede explores how fear makes even the most pious lash out at anyone perceived as different, anyone who makes them admit who they really are and threatens to disrupt their narrow perception of the world.
But it’s not all bleak, and this is not a blanket condemnation of the religious South.
Colby Holt directed and wrote the film, with his husband Sam Probst co-directing. Holt grew up in Paducah, KY, where filming for Gaynemede took place over nineteen days. During a Q&A, he explains his motivation for crafting this horror-tinged coming-of-age story.
“I’m very I love where I’m from, and I wanted to show that there is a different South that is more diverse, that is queer, that people of color live there and have lives and establish themselves. There is a new South that is diverse and welcoming, and it’s right alongside the South that everybody kind of talks about; they’re competing against some other and sometimes confronting one another and transforming for queer people, hopefully in positive ways by owning the new South.”
As a result, Gaynemede does not flinch when staring down the unfortunate reality of hate and bigotry, but it also reflects and celebrates the other side of humanity.
Gaynemede is a beautiful film that reinforces the idea that there are good people who will love and accept you no matter who you are. The film demonstrates great empathy for those who have to hide who they are their entire lives, even if it eventually turns them into monsters.
It’s a deeply personal tale, partly inspired by both Holt and Probst’s own coming out experiences, speaking to young queer kids who have the luxury of being fully who they are from an early age and those who must keep part of their identity hidden for fear of losing their family or community.
There are moments in this Southern Gothic tale that are truly terrifying, and other moments are tender and pure.
The entire cast’s stellar performances, especially the compelling young leads Doww and Castelblanco, anchor the tale. Chrest is chilling as the film’s central villain, a paragon of narcissistic intolerance, while Lively delivers a gut-wrenching performance as a woman desperate to do the right thing but too indoctrinated and terrified to know what that is.
The horror, both natural and supernatural, is well-executed, and the creature design is exceptional.
The pitch-perfect ending leaves viewers hopeful despite humanity’s worst tendencies; salvation is mercilessly offered to those who deserve it most.
Overall Rating (Out of 5 Butterflies): 4
GANYMEDE was featured at the Chattanooga Film Festival 2024, where it was screened for this review.
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