Does outrageous entertainment made by the LGBTQ community always have to be “campy”?  That’s a question that I asked myself between laughs during Summoning Sylvia, a wacky horror-comedy that serves as a directorial debut for Broadway actors Wesley Taylor and Alex Wyse.

For better or worse, “campy” can be an effective word when describing movies that feature big personalities in oddball situations.  But, too many people use that word to quickly summarize a movie and all of its quirks.  “Campy” also hints that the film is throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks.  Summoning Sylvia doesn’t do that.  It’s very careful with its narrative, which is why I want to dig deeper.  What does this movie remind me of? 

Four gay best friends (Travis Coles, Troy Iwata, Noah J. Ricketts, and former Big Brother contestant Frankie Grande) head to a creepy house to celebrate a bachelor party.  The hosts know the house is haunted, and the husband-to-be is delighted to know they’ll be speaking with spirits.  What they’re not so thrilled about is spending the weekend with the straightedge, regimented brother-in-law.  When a spirit is provoked and summoned (Veanne Cox), and the brother-in-law falls off the wagon and dives into a pissed off mood – the friends take jabs at each other while trying to survive whatever is trying to jab them.

I got it! This is a set-up fit for The Three Stooges;  just replace the slapstick humour with quick-witted, snide remarks.  Summoning Sylvia is more of a farcical horror-comedy than a campy one, and it’s just enough of a change in pace to give this silly flick its own legs to stand on.  The filmmakers make great use out of the haunted house, posing an initial challenge to make an isolated location interesting for 75 minutes.  And, the stars (playing the four friends) have terrific chemistry with each other, successfully holding their own when given individual punchlines to deliver.  The central cast is so good in fact, I would’ve rather have watched a movie of them interacting with bumps ’n creaks in the house and some hokey practical effects rather than the average ghost story that fleshes out Summoning Sylvia.

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Addison Wylie: @AddisonWylie