Coming out of the same studio that gave us RuPaul's Drag Race, and stacked with a whole crew of former contestants, Stop! That! Train! plays like RuPaul basically taking a bow for the entire franchise she's built. It's not really a gay film in the traditional sense, but with so many drag stars from Ru's shows popping up alongside a few cameos from well known out gay actors, I figured it earns a spot on this blog anyway. The whole thing is completely over the top, packed with GenZ slang, loud flashy visuals, and humor that's constantly winking at you knowing how ridiculous it is. Going in you'd assume it's meant to be a laugh riot, and a lot of critics online seem to be eating it up, but I just couldn't get into it at all. I've never really been someone who vibes with campy silly stuff like this, so honestly my reaction doesn't surprise me one bit. The setup follows Tess and DeeDee, two low level stewardesses who sneak onto the fancy Glamazonian E...
We meet various queer teenagers and young adults, including gay, lesbian, non-binary folks who arrive at a gay conversion camp. The leader of the camp Owen gives a big speech on how this has nothing to do with Jesus and their only idea is tome some of these people happier than they currently are. He wants these kids to find a sense of gender normativity, but only if they really want to. Amongst these people which has a mix of every typical stereotypical queer trait that you can possibly think of, Jordan stands out who is non-binary and asks to be addressed with pronoun they/them. The campers soon get involved in very heteronormative activities, psychological sessions etc. These sessions start to provide that Jordan is probably smarter, bold and much more athletic than anyone thought. But it turns out there is also a killer on the loose while this is happening. Slowly we see first the caretaker of the retreat being murdered (he used to creep up on the ladies) and one by one the other teachers and people working there are targeted. By the time the campers realize about the murders, there are already four bodies. When the secret is eventually revealed, it doesn't unfortunately, give you the satisfaction or the thrill.
The film has a lot of issues. With its repetitive scares (probably inspired by I know What you did last summer), it become largely verbose without ever going too deep into any of the topics that it barely touches upon. Race, gender, non-binary, transphobia are all just sprinkled over a basic plot line in hope for inclusion but none of them actually means anything in the actual scheme of things in the film. Even the more discomforting things that happen to the characters have little lasting impact, including the so-called therapists. The trademark athletic guy, who apparently was a student there, his fiancé, who also seems lesbian and they have sex fantasizing of same gender was the weirdest scene ever. Aside from not being very scary, the movie is littered with missed opportunities. A lot of things are just thrown there for sake of it, like one of the scenes I just mentioned. Using a Twink as a bait to seduce a macho gay man also was another low blow. Had the focus been completely on Jordan, rather than thinly trying to spread all over the place and maybe create a power dynamic between Owen, the leader and Jordan (the gender-fluid hero taking on the old guard of toxic masculinity) could have created a much more interesting film rather than a creepy shallow wanna-horror genre.
Although a few dedicated performances deliver some intriguing characters, this tepid slasher thriller is a half-baked attempt at queer horror. Even if it had something worthwhile to say, it would have no idea how to say it. (4/10)
Comments
What "They/Them" lacked for me was this specific tension that keeps you guessing who's the killer and who's the next victim and who'll be the survivor(s). And reading that it bothered you as well - phew, it's not solely my finicky attitude then :D The target shooting scene got my hopes rather high, but the finding of the killer and the reason for the murders was delivered in a weak manner, I'd say. 4 is a pretty fair score, although I'd given 5 - mainly for the character of Jordan.
What was the true horror for me was the whole concept of such camp per se. Secluded old buildings in arse end of nowhere, pointless rules - and staff consisting 100% of perverts. To realize that such camps still exist, in 21st century - that's completely incomprehensible for me. The fact that there are parents who are willing to send their children to such a place with such sick and twisted people, disgusting. For an empath it's truly excruciating to watch. And the after-the-film google made it even worse - wtf there are only 14 (16?) countries in the world where such establishments are officially banned?!
Although the script must have been written in haste, the camera work was pretty good, I'd say. And I really liked the scene with the "... pretty pretty please..." song. It's not my genre of music and I had no idea this song existed, but I loved the lyrics so much I added it to my "for a very sh*tty day" playlist right away.
Re: banning of such establishments in only 14/16 countries, I believe that. AFAIK, even in US, officially its not banned to have such establishments, but I could be wrong.
This film could have been so much more of an intense thriller and I think its a huge opportunity wasted.
and yes, we all have our vices and if 80's gay campy horror, then why not!!
In the non gay stuff, there are so many things , trashy ones. that I watch, which I would be very embarrassed to admit in public.