Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | Final Verdict
The Story:
Summoning Sylvia is a campy gay horror comedy that’s as entertaining as it is sloppy.
Reggie (Troy Iwata), Nico (Frankie Grande), and Kevin (Noah Ricketts) take Larry (Travis Coles) to a haunted house for the weekend without telling his fiancée, Jaimie (Michael Urie). When they arrive at the house, they tell Larry that it’s haunted by the ghost of Sylvia, who allegedly murdered her son and buried him out back. Larry also finds out that his friends never told Jaimie about the surprise weekend because he can’t keep a secret.
Larry calls Jaimie, who reminds him that they were supposed to spend the day with Jaimie’s brother, Harrison. Not wanting to upset Jaimie, Larry tells him that Harrison can spend the weekend with them. He goes back to the house unsure about how he’s going to break the news to his friends.
Nico gathers the group together for a séance to summon Sylvia’s ghost while Larry stresses about Harrison’s arrival. Nico gets into his role as medium and sets the mood as the summoning begins. There’s a sudden loud thumping at the front door, which startles everybody except Larry, who knows it’s Harrison. Nico, Reggie, and Kevin rush to the door, leaving Larry to explain that it’s Jamie’s brother.
Harrison arrives wearing camouflage and looking a bit confused. Nico and Kevin mistake Harrison for a stripper, then are annoyed when Larry tells them the truth. And this is when Summoning Sylvia turns into an outrageous mess.
Some thoughts:
Summoning Sylvia has a decent cast that holds your attention, and the directors, Wesley Taylor and Alex Wyse, know how to keep the action moving.
While the movie is amusing, it never elicits more than a chuckle. And there are times when it feels as if it’s trying too hard to get a message across.
Having a straight character in the mix is more of a detriment than a help. Most of the laughs come from watching the men react to being scared and having their imaginations run wild. Every time Harrison falls into the mix, the fun stops. It’s as if the directors are using Harrison to make a statement, but I don’t think anybody is watching Summoning Sylvia for depth or meaning.
The horror element is also poorly integrated into the story. And in the end, they aren’t being haunted by an evil spirit. It’s a bit of a disappointment, especially since the premise is that they are. The ghost of the mother and son do show up at the end, but it feels like a gimmick since they never appeared at any other time.
Final Verdict:
Summoning Sylvia would have been better with a tighter script that didn’t try to have a deeper meaning. The search for meaning sucks the joy of the movie and does a disservice to the cast, who are more than capable of giving the audience what they want.
