Coming just in time for Halloween, the new thriller A Closer Walk with Thee aims to take care of your seasonal scare needs while offering a heaping helping of homoeroticism!
A Closer Walk with Thee is a queer psychological horror feature. In fact, it may actually be the first of its kind! As far as we can tell, there are currently zero narrative features centered around gay “curing” exorcisms (which are a real thing that still tragically exist). The growing movement of “deliverance” churches (Evangelical exorcism) is a previously untapped yet rich genre territory that the filmmakers were excited to explore. According to their original Kickstarter page, a major catalyst in getting the film made, the movie is “an unrelenting and intense emotional experience that will offer something unique to queer, horror, and art house fan-bases alike.”
Four young Evangelical missionaries set up a house church in the inner city of Los Angeles to try and save the neighborhood from a gang with Satanist tendencies. Jordan (Aj Knight) is a good Christian kid, except that he’s starting to have impure sexual thoughts about his close friend and fellow missionary Eli (Gregory Shelby). When he’s caught masturbating while watching Eli shower, he is outed to the group and painfully ostracized – until Eli, who happens to be a fledgling exorcist, suggests that a demonic possession might be causing these feelings in Jordan. Indeed, Jordan begins to enact signs of possession, prompting Eli to take action. What begins as a ritualistic method of trying to save their friendship quickly spirals out of control and descends into darkness and violence.
The film was co-written and directed by John C. Clark and Brie Williams. John and Brie met at a screening one night and bonded over their love of genre films and fringe religious groups. Within a month of knowing each other, they started working on the concept for A Closer Walk with Thee and quickly became obsessed with making it into a feature. As partners on the project, they spent over a year developing it together, from a rigorous peer-critiqued writing process to casting to administrative paperwork to online hymnal shopping. They even attended a live Evangelical exorcism in an airport hotel basement (something they “highly recommended” – if you ever get the chance).
Check out the trailer below and make sure to pre-order your copy on DVD or Blu-ray. Available starting October 17, this is THE gay movie to own for the forthcoming ‘spooky season’.
