It all happens for Larry‘s (Travis Coles) bachelor party. His friends Reggie, Nico, and Kevin (Troy Iwata, Frankie Grande, and Noah J. Ricketts) rent an old, haunted house in upstate New York for the affair, with plans for a variety of adventures. The four — all fabulously gay — are titillated by the house’s history and set out to summon the murderous spirit of its previous resident, Sylvia (Veanne Cox). Nico, for some reason, has a spell book and the four hold a séance to summon Sylvia. Their festivities are somewhat dampened when Larry’s fiancé Jamie (Michael Urie) sends his brother and best man Harrison (Nicholas Logan) to join them. His very straight, very intense and bothered war veteran brother.

As the story unfolds, the five face noises and threats from beyond, as the true story of Sylvia and her doomed son Phillip (Camden Garcia) is revealed, all while navigating inter-friend romance, drunkenness, and Larry’s attempts to dampen down the camp to keep Harrison comfortable, much to the chagrin of his friends.

And, uh, there’s a pizza boy.

It all comes together as a good, solid ghost story comedy. It starts out as a sort of gay Big Chill and segues smoothly into The Others meets La Cage Aux Folles. This storyline would have every right to be a cheap, b-grade campy comedy starring a bunch of friends and directed by somebody’s brother-in-law. But it’s not! It’s a real, quality, polished film. The cast are well-chosen and cutely quirky, and the chemistry is strong. It is easy to believe they are lifelong friends on an adventure.

It’s honestly refreshing to have a gay cast (well, mostly gay) that are allowed to be flamboyant and fun, with no real drama or trauma driving the story. And while it’s never actually frightening, there are espooky moments in between the quips and hijinx.

I have a huge soft spot for single-location films. This could easily be adapted into a stage production, and is theatrical enough to pull it off. Overall, this is a fun film and definitely worth watching on its own merits, and especially if you’re looking for some quality queer horror content with a fun soundtrack.

Released on VOD April 7.

9 out of 10 wasted merlots