SoHome Horror Pride 2024: ‘Ganymede’ Review
Stars: Jordan Doww, Joe Chrest, Robyn Lively, David Koechner, Pablo Castelblanco, Deaton Gabbard, Brady Gentry, J. Craig Gordon, Tatiana Harman, Marissa Reyes | Written by Colby Holt | Directed by Colby Holt, Sam Probst
In mythology, Ganymede was a young man who was so stunningly handsome Zeus had an eagle abduct him and bring him to Olympus to serve as cupbearer to the gods. And, of course, as one of his lovers. In the here and now, Ganymede is the new film from Colby Holt and his partner Sam Probst who previously collaborated on Pig Hag. The film is based in part on their own experiences. I’m assuming they mean growing up LGBTQ in deep South fundamentalist Christian families, not being stalked by something from beyond the grave.
While there are no monsters in the film’s opening scene, it’s certainly ominous enough. A man sits, finishing his cigarette before the camera reveals he’s on a pier, and he’s chained cinder blocks to his body. Slowly he starts walking towards the water. Moving forward to the present day, we meet Lee Fletcher (Jordan Doww; Mr. Student Body President, Stalked by a Reality Star) as he cools off from an evening run by diving into a lake and seeing something that horrifies him.
Lee is a young man with a promising future. He’s one of his school’s star athletes, his father “Big” Lee Fletcher (Joe Chrest; Stranger Things, Lisa Frankenstein) is the county commissioner. It goes without saying that they, along with his mother Floy Fletcher (Robyn Lively; The Karate Kid Part III, Cobra Kai) are active in the local church run by Pastor Royer (David Koechner; Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse).
But Lee has a secret he’s been struggling to keep hidden, and it’s going to become even harder after he meets Kyle (Pablo Castelblanco; Alaska Daily, There is No Such Thing As A Dragon)who is as open about his sexuality as Lee is closeted. And that’s when the monsters, human and otherwise, start to appear.
In Ganymede, Holt and Probst have created a film that is, first and foremost, a strong drama that has deservedly picked up several awards, including the Pride Award at the Chattanooga Film Festival and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Film at the Reeling International Film Festival.
The film is much more focused on real-world issues such as homophobia, conversion therapy, and, the stress a situation like this can put on a family and the kind of hypocrisy that lets people point to Leviticus when same-sex relationships are mentioned but ignore the Seventh Commandment’s prohibition of adultery. More importantly, it does its best not to sensationalize these elements, although bringing electroshock therapy into the story may be sensational regardless of how one handles it.
Where Ganymede differs from conventional coming-of-age stories, LGBTQ or otherwise, is the supernatural element. And despite some solid effects work from J. Anthony Kosar (Shameless, Night’s End), Lawrence Gant (Candyman, Perpetrator) and Troy Holbrook (Strain 100, Detention of the Dead) it’s not really a horror film either. It’s more of a Southern Gothic which, along the lines of films like Cold Moon, are as much about family secrets and closets full of skeletons as it is about the monsters they produce.
At first glance, that may appear to be an unlikely combination, and there’s an argument to be made that Ganymede could as easily have been made without the creature. And I can see how its presence would turn off those biased against the genre. But given the way plot devices such as troubled families, secrets and sexuality play into Southern Gothic, it didn’t feel like a stretch to me. To the contrary, it added a touch of originality to what was otherwise a well done, but rather familiar plot and the identity of the spectre reinforces the story’s main points.
Overall, Ganymede is a well-written and acted drama whose supernatural element dovetails nicely into its main storyline. It’s well worth a watch for those looking for some atmospheric chills with their drama.
**** 4/5
Ganymede screened as part of this year’s SoHome Horror Pride film festival. VMI Worldwide are set to release the film to Digital and VOD Platforms, in the US, on August 6th.
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