Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Momo and Okarun share a close moment in Dandadan

    Momo And Okarun: The Gold Standard For Shonen Romance

    07/03/2025
    Ironheart Episodes 4 6 But Why Tho 1

    ‘Ironheart’ Explained: Explore MCU’s Bold New Chapter

    07/01/2025
    Buck in 9-1-1

    ‘9-1-1’ Has To Let Buck Say Bisexual

    06/29/2025
    Nintendo Welcome Tour promotional image of the maraca mini-game

    The One “Game” That Justifies The Nintendo Switch 2 Purchase

    06/25/2025
    Destiel Confession in Supernatural - Castiel (Misha Collins) and Dean (Jensen Ackles)

    The Destiel Confession: The Lasting Importance Of Supernatural’s Greatest Ship

    06/22/2025
  • Squid Game
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
  • Summer Game Fest
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » REVIEW: ‘They/Them’ Isn’t the Slasher You’re Expecting and That’s Okay!

REVIEW: ‘They/Them’ Isn’t the Slasher You’re Expecting and That’s Okay!

Jason FlattBy Jason Flatt08/06/20225 Mins ReadUpdated:10/18/2022
They/Them - But Why Tho
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

They/Them - But Why Tho

They/Them is a Peacock Original movie produced by Blumhouse and directed and written by John Logan. At a gay conversion therapy camp run by Kevin Bacon‘s Owen, his wife Cora (Carrie Preston), the nurse Molly (Anna Chlumsky), and the models of perfect genre conformity Zane (Boone Platt) and Sarah (Hayley Griffith), a new group of kids arrive for all different reasons. Jordan (Theo Germaine) was promised emancipation if they went. Others are there against their will. And some want desperately to stop being gay. None of them are ready for the week ahead.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

You have to understand two things about this movie before getting into it to calibrate your expectations correctly: it’s very low-key on the horror and the horror elements don’t take place in the ways you expect from a standard thriller. Honestly, the movie is nearly more of a gruesome murder mystery than it is a slasher. The kills aren’t especially interesting, the gore isn’t too overwhelming, and the scariest parts come from the movie’s premise more than anything.

All of that is to say, I like the movie. Is it a bit hokey? Sure. Is it a tad unsure of what kind of movie it wants to be? Certainly, it meanders a bit too much while waxing poetic about its morals a bit too overtly. But that doesn’t make it bad. In fact, by the end, it really did feel quite well tied- together and even though I certainly don’t need to be learning the movie’s lessons for myself, I couldn’t help but have the finale work on me. Plus, as somebody who has little interest in traditional horror, I’m perfectly fine with the movie being more of a light thriller than anything. The scariest part of They/Them, frankly, is that aside from the serial murders, there is literally nothing unrealistic about it.

First, Kevin Bacon is excellent here. He plays his role scarily well, beginning with a speech that would make even the best camp director blush (and believe me, I know a lot of good camp directors) about how he isn’t there to stop them from being gay and how they all belong at that camp no matter what. I was so endeared by him so quickly, despite knowing full well he would make a rapid turn into a menacing bigot. And when he does make that turn, it’s still with that hint of that charm, making it all the more creepy.

The whole queer cast of queer teens is pretty solid too. There are some stilted lines in the script and somewhat dull performances, especially when Jordan is grandstanding, and one sex scene is a tad cringy. I do think that most of the other characters were more interesting than Jordan was and could have been better main protagonists (I’m looking at Alexandra (Quei Tann) and Toby (Austin Crute). But the representation of kids attending a camp, even this despicable kind of camp, is one of the most on-point I’ve seen recently. All of the talk of belonging, breaking down barriers, and finding who you are is cheesy for sure, obviously, but what I find so charming about They/Them is that it actually doesn’t devolve into a trite trip down trauma lane for the kids.

Instead, they spend a lot of the movie just being a group of queer teens at a camp, down to the full-blown singalong. How they all knew all the words to a P!nk song almost as old as them? I don’t know, but my disbelief is suspended because honestly, I’ve been in too many of those exact kinds of spontaneous singing moments not to know exactly how enrapturing they can be. I will suffer no comparisons to awkward teen musical media on this one; it was more naturally integrated than any Glee number and had me laughing pretty well.

Of course, the camp is an abominable place doing a heinous thing in every way you probably can imagine. As I said, the horror comes more from the fact that places like this doing these things to teens really genuinely exist than the horrible things we see happen. But for the most part, those gruesome and horror-ish moments are executed pretty fairly. They’re rather intrinsically tied to the movie’s greater commentary on gay conversion and heterosexism and transphobia. I don’t think They/Them lands every single one of its attempts perfectly, sometimes because of corny lines, sometimes because of over-acting. But altogether, I finished the movie feeling pretty decent about both its message and how it chose to go about examining it for the length of the movie.

They/Them isn’t really what I was expecting, but as somebody who has little interest generally in horror and even less experience watching it, I was ultimately glad for the kind of movie that it wound up being. I would say it’s more of a creepy murder mystery with slight gore and a thriller element to it more so than a horror movie. Its greatest horror is in its realism and Kevin Bacon’s scary good performance.

They/They is streaming now on Peacock.

They/Them
  • 7/10
    Rating - 7/10
7/10

TL;DR

They/Them isn’t really what I was expecting, but as somebody who has little interest generally in horror and even less experience watching it, I was ultimately glad for the kind of movie that it wound up being. I would say it’s more of a creepy murder mystery with slight gore and a thriller element to it more so than a horror movie. Its greatest horror is in its realism and Kevin Bacon’s scary good performance.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleCRUNCHYROLL EXPO 2022: Jujutsu Kaisen with the Cast
Next Article REVIEW: ‘LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation’ is Another Great Plastic Galactic Adventure
Jason Flatt
  • X (Twitter)

Jason is the Sr. Editor at But Why Tho? and producer of the But Why Tho? Podcast. He's usually writing about foreign films, Jewish media, and summer camp.

Related Posts

The Old Guard 2
5.5

REVIEW: ‘The Old Guard 2’ Is Distracted And Half-Baked

07/02/2025
Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey in Jurassic World: Rebirth
5.5

REVIEW: ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’ Is Best When Nobody Is Talking

06/30/2025
MEGAN 2.0 promotional image
7.0

REVIEW: ‘M3GAN 2.0’ Puts Action First

06/29/2025
F1 (2025) promotional key art
8.0

REVIEW: ‘F1’ Is A High-Octane Blockbuster

06/24/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Promotional image form Netflix
9.0

REVIEW: ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Brings Beautiful Animation And An Even Better Message

06/20/2025
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams in 28 Years Later
8.5

REVIEW: ’28 Years Later’ Is How Franchises Should Return

06/18/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Taecyeon and Seohyun in The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8
7.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘The First Night With The Duke’ Episodes 7-8

By Sarah Musnicky07/03/2025

The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8 spends welcome time in pre-domestic bliss before new developments stir up trouble.

Together (2025) still from Sundance
8.0
Film

REVIEW: Have A Grossly Good Time ‘Together’

By Kate Sánchez01/27/2025Updated:07/04/2025

Dave Franco and Alison Brie’s Together (2025) is disgustingly funny, genuinely ugly, and just a good time at the movies.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and 4 Alcatraz
9.0
PS5

REVIEW: ‘Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4’ Gives Old Games New Life

By Kyle Foley07/07/2025

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4 is another example of how to breathe new life into a classic without losing touch of what makes the originals great.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here