Conversion Therapy Camp Is Scary in More Ways Than One in Queer Slasher Flick 'They/Them' — Who's the Killer?

Aug. 5 2022, Updated 12:04 p.m. ET

Spoiler alert: This article contains main spoilers for the movie They/Them.

What's scarier than a ghost, a ghoul, or maybe a sadistic demon having a look to suck the soul out of you? An LGBTQ conversion therapy camp. Wait, we can one-up that. An LGBTQ conversion camp unknowingly internet hosting a masked serial killer. Director John Logan’s queer slasher flick They/Them — which is pronounced as They-Slash-Them — follows this actual premise. It's mainly a queer Friday the 13th.

"Campers at an LGBTQ+ conversion camp endure unsettling psychological techniques while the campsite is stalked by a mysterious killer," the professional synopsis reads. And who's leading the nerve-racking camp? None as opposed to a chilling Kevin Bacon (Footloose) runs Whistler Camp! You simply wish to accept as true with him so badly.

The film also stars Theo Germaine (Work in Progress), Anna Chlumsky (Veep), Carrie Preston (The Good Wife), Quei Tann (Dear White People), Monique Kim (High Expectasians), and Austin Crute (Booksmart), amongst others.

While the continuously lackluster film features a first rate amount of hacky-slashy a laugh, it also highlights the very real horrors queer other folks enjoy every day. But well-intended social commentary aside, we know why you might be right here: Who's the masked killer in They/Them?

Who's the killer in 'They/Them'?

Just like any whodunit slasher film, They/Them makes an attempt to drag one over on its target audience, making it seem like several different people may be able to be the killer.

Is it the therapist with the sweet smile; the one who calls the campers vile homophobic/transphobic slurs (Carrie Preston) in their sessions? Is it the hyper-masculine athletics director and former "student" (Boone Platt)? Is it the seductive and alluring activities director (Hayley Griffith)? Or maybe it is the sleazy handyman — who seems to be an utter perve (Mark Ashworth).

It's simple to persuade your self that the ax murderer is no longer Kevin Bacon's Owen Whistler — aka the creepily heat Whistler Camp director (to start with, it's nearly easy to forget that he runs a godforsaken queer conversion camp) — because that might be too evident. And it is.

It seems that the masked killer with the bloody ax (real unique) is the supportive nurse, Anna Chlumsky's Molly. As a former "student" of the conversion camp, Molly — whose actual title is Angie — sought out to get revenge on the sickos who run the camp decades after being tortured there.

If you pay attention, none of the queer campers get chopped up — handiest the homophobic antagonists (and one pupil plant) get the ax, literally. Molly/Angie is out to get the bad guys.

Carrie Preston was "terrified" to play a bigoted personality in 'They/Them.'

Carrie Preston's Dr. Cora Whistler — aka the wife of Owen Whistler — is a downright blasphemous, manipulative human being. And boy is Carrie excellent at handing over those horrific traces. Verbally and emotionally abusing the campers is the character's uniqueness during her "licensed" remedy classes. Though Carrie is fabulous in the role, she was nervous on the inside of.

“I used to be terrified,” she explained to Page Six. “I believed, ‘Oh my goodness, I will not say these things. These are terrible things to say.’"

“But then I thought, ‘Hey listen, this is what the film’s about. It’s about the horrors of this thing that this woman is doing.’ So the film doesn’t really work if you don’t have that, so I was very happy to be invested in it,” Carrie Preston continued.

And while it broke her heart to call these innocent queer characters unspeakable names, Carrie enjoyed stepping out of her comfort zone.

“I usually play the quirky character or the sweet character, that kind of thing. So, I always like an opportunity to do something different, something that stretches me.”

Honestly, it's not clear who's a worse person, Dr. Cora Whistler or serial killer Molly/Angie.

They/Them hits Peacock on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pbXSramam6Ses7p6wqikaKhfrLWwecisZK2glWK4qrjLnqlmrJiaxm7Ax56k