Conversion Therapist

By: Gladys Luna

Conversion Therapist is an LGBTQ+ short horror story written and directed by Bears Rebecca Fonté. The film was inspired by the Orlando mass shooting at Pulse nightclub back in 2016. Evidently affected and heartbroken by the event and the authority’s response in regards the massacre, Fonté decided to pour their sentiment onto paper bring this story to life. Even though “the end does not justify the means,” Conversion Therapist offers a glimpse into the closed mindedness of bigotry of certain “ministers” who think that massacres like these are justified.

The lead of the story is Justine (Sara Fletcher), the babysitter of a successful and arrogant town conversion therapist named Ira (Michael Dickson), who possesses some dirty secrets of his own. These secrets are actually known to Justine, with whom he also happens to share a very special “dynamic.” What appears to be a playful night between the therapist and the young woman soon turns into one of his biggest nightmares when suddenly he wakes up locked up in a warehouse and realizes that he has been kidnapped by Justine and her romantic partners Clay (Jordan Morgan) and Salina (Evelyn Jake), who is transgender. Something that starts as a game to teach Ira a lesson by using a replica of his own methodology quickly escalates into a very violent and explicit form of torture where everything is allowed. As the film unravels, we start to discover the other characters’ motives to plot such a vendetta accompanied by a very interesting surprise to give the open finale a different flavor.

Sara Fletcher’s stoic and cold-blooded embodiment of Justine that prevails throughout most of the film will surely make you shudder more than once. Fletcher portrays a perfect balance of her character’s personality, depending on which environment she was put in. Evelyn Jake’s character, Salina, often serves as a very good neutralizer for Justine – letting her show the different colors of human nature.

Bears Rebecca Fonté guides viewers on an insightful ride through the characters’ emotions and motives that make this film come to light. Fonté offers the chance to take a front row seat to the lack of empathy, violence, negligence and intolerance that are often the stimuli that trigger the cruelest of behaviors and actions. The film develops in a hostile, dark and isolated environment that surpasses the screen making you feel uncomfortable to watch at times.

Conversion Therapist is a film that shows the raw human nature when pushed to the limits. It is helplessness disguised by an ultra-violent set of actions. The atmosphere of the film offers a reminisce to the 1971 movie A Clockwork Orange for its often very heavy vibe and improper methods. I would recommend watching this movie with an open mind and the notion that subtly is not a forte. In May 2018 Bears Fonté started a Kickstarter campaign in order to take the film to full completion and eligible for a run on film festivals.