Joy of joys, LABRYS brings us a supernatural, superheroic, superqueer movie. Delightful, queer-positive, femme positive, empowering, and ridiculously fun are just some of the ways I want to describe BJ Colangelo’s LABRYS.

Leenie and Jill are enjoying a first date together at a dive bar. Their sweet and awkward first date is made uncomfortable by a random guy in the bar (shocker), and since they’ve sat around past closing time, they decide to call it a night. They try to shake off the feeling that they’re being discriminated against for being a same-sex couple and share a laugh and a smile over their newly discovered infatuation for each other. A lovely goodnight kiss and the giddy feelings they both feel is cut short when Leenie is confronted at her car by the same random heckler from the bar. Jill comes to the rescue and provides a whole lot more rescuing than anyone could ever imagine.

The symbolism of Jill’s power, and Leenie’s hope, stem from Jill accepting who she is and who she has always been, is a beautiful play on the queer narrative. Once again it’s thrilling to see a happy story – and a happy ending – for a queer couple. LABRYS thrives from its empowered and strong female leads, without any trace of stereotype. Eighties camp fun and totally modern sensibilities create a fantastic playground for our leads to play on. LABRYS gave me hopes for a queer-super series or at least a film following the adventures of Jill as she takes control of her powers and learns to harness her truth. “I still like you, no matter what you are,” Leenie tells Jill. And we couldn’t agree more.

BJ Colangelo is a voice in horror and in the LGBT community I’ve been thrilled to follow for a long time, and LABRYS proves to me that she’s only just beginning. I cannot wait to see what her incredible mind creates for us next.

9/10 stars