Ganymede: A Queer Horror Experience

Mythologically speaking, Ganymede was essentially one of Zeus’ lovers. The official story is that he was a stunning young man who captivated Zeus’ attention so much that he abducted him and took him to Olympus where he served as a cupbearer to the gods, but everyone knows he also served Zeus romantically and sexually. In the film Ganymede, the concept of a ganymede is explained as a homosexual demon that tempts others into the pits of homosexuality. Starring Jordan Doww and Pablo Castelblanco in the lead roles, Ganymede is a queer teen horror film that functions as a metaphor for just how horrific it can be to be a queer, closeted teenager in the South of the United States. 

It’s the story of Lee Fletcher (Jordan Doww). He’s a young, American teen born into a deeply religious family. He’s on the wrestling team, does well at school, and has a bright future ahead of him. Fletcher is dealing with some demons though as he navigates the pits of the very gay closet he’s hiding in. He does what he can to suppress his homosexual tendencies, but he can only deny himself for so long. Lee has actual demonic hallucinations whenever he’s having gay thoughts or struggling to contain his gay urges. To him they’re real, but they’re actually just a metaphor for him coming to terms with himself. 

Enter Kyle Culper (Pablo Castelblanco). He’s the confident, out-and-proud gay kid at their school and he’s got a thing for Lee. He joins a trash pick-up activity at school that he knows Lee is participating in, for the sole purpose of putting himself in Lee’s path. Before he’s really able to contain it, Lee develops feelings for Kyle. Considering how closeted he is, and the absolutely horrendous rhetoric he’s surrounded by in his home, Lee moves on his feelings relatively quickly and before you know it, Kyle is in Lee’s bedroom making out with the dude. 

They get sprung by Lee’s homophobic parents and the local preacher is called in to assess the situation. He labels Kyle a Ganymede and convinces Lee and his family that his symptoms *coughs, his gayness, coughs* can be cured with tactics we now call conversion therapy. 

The hypocrisy of Christian indoctrination is also on display in Ganymede. Lee’s father (Joe Chrest) considers himself a devout Christian who is living god’s will and staunchly opposes homosexuality, or anything to do with it at all. To him, and so many others who think like him, queerness is a sin that should be eradicated from the world. Despite his dedication to living a clean, Christian life, the man cheats on his wife — which is also a cardinal sin. The character of Big Lee is clearly intended to spotlight the nonsensical hypocrisy that organized religion pushes on the LGBTQ community. 

There are many characters in queer films like Big Lee, but the reality is, there are many people in real life that embody his personality and belief systems too. In 2024 there are still so many people walking around with the same narrow-minded, hateful ideology that Big Lee projects. As long as that man and the pastor are working together, Lee just isn’t safe in that community, which is also a very sad reality for many young LGBTQ people around the country—especially in the deeply religious South. 

As the film progresses, despite obviously wanting to toe the line, Lee can’t stay away from Kyle, and — shock horror — none of the conversion therapy tactics work on him. After a violent confrontation with the pastor, who is also gay — GASP — and doing everything in his power to not be, Lee makes the decision not to let the demons win anymore. 

The demon metaphor is not a new one for LGBTQ storytelling, but Ganymede does a good job of artfully weaving the metaphor into the actual plot of the story. For most of the film, as the events unfolded before our eyes, the entire storyline felt so utterly ominous. As we watched, considering this is labeled as a horror film, we didn’t see a way out of this for Lee or Kyle. As we hid behind our hands wondering if we were about to bear witness to another example of burying the gays, but we’re happy to report that Ganymede does not subscribe to this overdone trope.

As Lee sheds himself of the restraints of homophobia and the closet, life gets better. He finds happiness in Kyle and makes queer friends. He goes out and lives his life and just gets to be. We’re here for queer happy endings that depict an attainable ordinary life once one learns to break free from the shackles of hatred and bigotry. 

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Ganymede is now available to stream on VOD–Apple TV, Fandango at Home, and Prime Video. Follow us on X and Instagram for all queer stuff!

Featured Image: Courtesy of VMI