Trailer drops for new horror movie where queer teen has to save high school bullies

The trailer has dropped for a new horror movie with a twist: a queer teen has to save high school athletes from being murdered. And it looks set to be a super gay slasher.

In Departing Seniors, “awkward” Latino Javier, played by Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, is just trying to make it through high school in one piece.

He’s caught in a daily battle with class president Ginny (Maisie Merlock) over the role of valedictorian, and with a 4.0-grade average, he’s one of the smartest kids in the school. But he’s also been bullied relentlessly.

One day, after being tripped up by one of the bullies, he falls down stairs and is knocked out. And that’s where the twist kicks in.

Waking up in the hospital, he realises something has changed – he’s started having visions. He asks his father if there’s a history of “mental illness in the family,” and when he’s told no, starts out on a mission to find answers.

His best friend Bianca (Ireon Roach) tells him that he could be experiencing “psychometry,” or the “supposed ability to discover facts about an event or person by touching inanimate objects associated with them”.

At this point, the movie becomes a slasher as his students start to be targeted by a mysterious killer in a mask. Javier realises he can use his new powers to save them, twisting the narrative as he heroically steps up to save the bullies and the jocks who have continually wronged him.

The queer horror film has already been hyped up, with one critic describing it as a “teen horror of the post-modern variety, full of characters who themselves watch scary movies.” Elsewhere, it’s been labelled a “fun take on the jock-shock genre.”

Fans have already started to react online, too, with one writing on X, formerly Twitter: “OK #DepartingSeniors has my full attention.”

Another joked on YouTube: “The stereotypical jocks bully nerd in the open where there are never any teachers or cameras.”

Others have started to speculate on the plot. “I bet the killer is the teacher who has had enough of annoying teen angst and bullying,” one supposed.

Departing Seniors will be available on digital video-on-demand platforms from 2 February, through Dark Sky Films.

• Nov 29 2023

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