"Summoning Sylvia" throws a gaggle of gays into a haunted house with funny results

Summoning Sylvia (2023)

Just visualize a gaggle of gays spending a weekend in a creaky haunted house rather than Fire Island or Palm Springs, and you get a sense of the scrappy and benign indie “Summoning Sylvia.” Light on the horror but big on the comedy and Broadway histrionics, this queer-centric horror-comedy gets a ton of mileage out of a quick-witted script and a spirited, very funny cast. It also might have something to say about love and acceptance. 

Groom-to-be Larry (Travis Coles) is “kidnapped” by his three best friends—Reggie (Troy Iwata), Nico (Frankie Grande), and Kevin (Noah J. Ricketts)—for a bachelor weekend before getting married to Jamie (Michael Urie). Reggie is the sober type-A planner, finding a vintage house in upstate New York as their Airbnb. It’s allegedly haunted, of course, by the 100-year-old spirit of Sylvia Lawrence (Veanne Cox), who was apparently driven mad and killed her only son. Luckily, resident drama queen Nico brought his spell book and crystal ball for a little séance. When the people-pleasing Larry forgets he promised to spend the weekend bonding with Jamie’s straight ex-military brother Harrison (Nicholas Logan), he falls under pressure and asks Jamie to invite Harrison on this “gaycation.” What could possibly go wrong?

Making their feature directorial debut, Broadway babies Wesley Taylor (TV’s “Smash”) and Alex Wyse write and direct “Summing Sylvia” like a fun weekend spent with a group of friends. Frankie Grande can't help but be the standout as Nico, who embraces his too-muchness, but every actor has a sharp delivery and an intuitive handle on their distinct characters. Though the horror elements are about as tame as a William Castle picture, the film manages to be a little spooky—a mere look from Veanne Cox as the titular murderess Sylvia gets the job done—and cleverly parallels moments from Sylvia’s final moments with the present action. With the filmmakers both being stage actors, it only makes sense to conclude their movie with the characters’ end-of-the-weekend performance in drag to Carolee Carmello’s “After You’re Gone,” and they bring down the house. A rendition of a certain deathless Smash Mouth song is also very amusing. Even if it’s low-stakes and limited in scope, “Summoning Sylvia” is an enjoyable lark that makes its cast’s loud-and-proud enthusiasm so infectious. 

Grade: B -

The Horror Collective is releasing “Summoning Sylvia” (74 min.) in select theaters on March 31, 2023 and on VOD and digital April 7, 2023.