Gay conversion therapy is only the start of the horrors at Camp Whistler. They/Them centres around a group of LGBTQ+ youth stuck in the middle of a nightmare in more ways than one when they’re forced to attend a conversion camp where there’s a masked killer on the loose. One by one, bodies begin dropping, and with the help of a sympathetic counsellor, the campers must band together to escape and save themselves. Produced by Blumhouse Productions and released straight to streaming starting with Peacock, They/Them was met with mixed audience reception and has left horror fans (especially those in the LGBTQ+ community) divided over the ending. But the one thing we can all agree on is that the film has a befittingly stacked cast of actors from the LGBTQ+ community IRL, including Theo Germaine, Quei Tann, Darwin del Fabro, Cooper Koch, Monique Kim, and Austin Crute.1 But great casting was not enough to save this film from criticism…
My greatest grievance about They/Them is that although it features some recognizable trappings of a summer camp-themed horror movie, it fails to deliver on the gore. I’m not talking gore for gore’s sake, either. Through numerous hard-to-watch moments of the LGBTQ+ campers being victimized by the homophobic camp leaders, this film tees viewers up for some satisfying revenge violence only to pull punches and deliver nearly all of the kills of these abusers off-screen. I may be speaking for myself here, but we—especially those in the LGBTQ+ community—deserve at least a little catharsis in the form of some good old-fashioned revenge violence after having to endure watching such cruelty shown towards the LGBTQ+ characters at the hands of the camp counsellors (it’s hard to pick the worst scene, but the “therapy” session between our lead protagonist, non-binary Jordan [Theo Germaine] and Camp Whistler’s resident therapist [Carrie Preston] stands out as particularly gut-wrenching). With the absence of gore, They/Them feels like a PG-13 movie when, in actuality, it is rated TV-MA, which is equivalent to an R rating, shockingly. So what gives?
In addition to holding back on the gore, They/Them also touches on some dark topics but sees some missed opportunities to push these poignant discussions to their full potential, resulting in the feeling that some of the emotional aspects of the film have been stifled. On the other hand, if the scenes of LGBTQ+ abuse were any more emotional without the payoff of seeing the vile camp leaders get their gory comeuppance, watching this film would be torturous. So, I digress.
On the subject of violence, it should be noted that They/Them breaks a cardinal horror movie rule and kills a dog (albeit offscreen). I suppose it could be intended as character development for our main protagonist, but if I could retool the plot of They/Them, I would remove the dog-killing moment and then use some of the guts it took to put that in the movie in the first place to ramp up the gore in the name of some LGBTQ+ revenge.
Moving on to other disappointments, I expected They/Them to lean into campy horror comedy territory—the LGBTQ+ community are known for their sense of humour, after all—but we mostly only get a few one-liners sprinkled throughout (which were either intentionally funny or funny by way of irony in the context—like laughing at the utter absurdity of false platitudes and canned responses we typically hear from the right-wing). Queer viewers who are familiar with the 90s comedy But I’m A Cheerleader may also extract hints of dark humour in the closeted staff members and their revealing comments and/or actions (but you won’t find Ru Paul’s Mike here at this camp!)
Queer viewers who are familiar with the 90s comedy But I’m A Cheerleader may […] extract hints of dark humour in the closeted staff members and their revealing comments and/or actions (but you won’t find Ru Paul’s Mike here at this camp!)
With respect to the film’s comedic choices, I will give They/Them props for the (I assume) campy casting choice of Kevin Bacon as crooked conversion camp leader, Owen. He played the role to a tee, but I wish the writing for the character of Owen took better advantage of Kevin Bacon’s acting range so he could meet his full unhinged potential in the third act.
In an alternate universe, I’d love to see what someone like Jordan Peele would do with a premise like this, as he is an expert at balancing horror with comedy to great effect. He is the perfect storyteller when tackling disturbing and difficult subject matter authentically and tactfully without sacrificing humour—which this movie would have benefitted from if done right.
In terms of comedy, I should note that despite the title, they/them pronouns were not the butt of the joke in the movie, much to my relief. Although nonbinary identities were undermined and diminished by other characters (it is set at a conversion camp, after all), no cheap shots were taken at preferred pronouns under the guise of humour.
Circling back to some of the emotional aspects of They/Them, the romantic side plots unfolding between the campers were sweet but mostly kept to a superficial level. Where the film did excel emotionally was in the circle time scenes where all of the LGBTQ+ campers were sharing stories and unpacking their respective traumas. On that note, They/Them features a strong cast across the board. However, Theo Germaine’s powerful performance notwithstanding, nearly all of the characters (and there are a lot of them) are sadly undeveloped in the film’s 1 hr 44-minute runtime. I will say that Anna Chlumsky was able to make an impression with what screen time she did have.
One minor critique I have with regards to the emotional scenes is I wish They/Them didn’t swing so hard into the cheese, with the musical scene set to Perfect by P!nk being a prime example. But then again, a little levity (even if it’s slightly corny) doesn’t hurt after we had to endure such heartbreaking dialogue right before. Queer people’s hearts, especially, will ache during this movie’s run time, so I’m not even mad at throwing an impromptu musical number complete with enthusiastic dancing in the middle of a horror movie (for a minute, I thought I was watching Riverdale).
Aside from the film itself, a thing that They/Them did well was subverting expectations by not spoiling the plot in the trailer. The trailer positions the camp as the source of the masked killer (hiding some sinister secret), and although there is a masked killer, the real horrors of the camp are not some masked maniac or some kind of greater supernatural force; the monsters are the camp organizers themselves, and the true horror comes from the dehumanizing atrocities committed at the conversion camp. Essentially, the very concept of “conversion” and abuse (read: torture) is the horror, not some masked killer, as it should be.
Oh, and in speaking of subverting expectations, the twist in the third act zigs when horror fans will expect it to zag. Save for spoilers, I will concede that perhaps the creative choices made for the movie’s ending are intended to prove that love can truly conquer hate and queer people are not evil “others,” despite what labels from the homophobes on the other side would like you to believe. As Bee Delores of Bloody Disgusting aptly points out, “Revenge is not a conduit for justice.” (I highly suggest reading and reflecting on their post after watching the movie, as it contains spoilers). Nevertheless, it still stands that your degree of satisfaction with the film’s conclusion will depend on what your preferred version of revenge looks like. You will likely fall into one of two camps (pardon the pun): the high road or the bloody revenge camp (and I, admittedly, at this still-early stage in my queer journey, am siding with the latter camp).
In conclusion, although They/Them pulls punches when it comes to horror, I am still happy that it exists. This film is necessary to help spread awareness of and underscore the atrocities within conversion camps by humanizing and putting a face to concepts that some bigoted people cannot understand (especially understanding and respecting non-binary identities). For queer people, the message is to never let anyone else define who you are or dictate your journey. But whether you are queer or straight, everyone can empathize with the characters’ struggles on screen—both in the everyday horror of the real world (i.e. homophobia) and also in the manufactured horror of the creepy camp this story is taking place in.
[…] Whether you are queer or straight, everyone can empathize with the characters’ struggles on screen—both in the everyday horror of the real world (i.e. homophobia) and also in the manufactured horror of the creepy camp this story is taking place in.
As previously implied with my Riverdale reference, with the sanitized, off-screen violence and occasional cheese factor, I think this film is best suited for a younger audience. On the flip side, this film also feels like essential viewing for older generations who still, even in 2025, don’t seem to “get it” when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights and who need to contextualize the present-day fight for LGBTQ+ equality with insights into the pain and struggles that queer youth face. Needless to say, there is also the key message of the disturbing effects of conversion camps and the traumatic consequences of such barbaric practices at the intersection of religion and homophobia.
- *Editor’s Note: I apologize in advance if I miss denoting any actors in the LGBTQ+ community from the They/Them cast in this list. This list is based on which actors have personally confirmed their sexuality in interviews and/or on their social media profiles that I found during my research. If I am missing any, please comment below so I may amend the list. ↩︎