One small aspect of a film can often lift up the rest of the not-so-stellar movie. A Closer Walk With Thee (2017) is an extremely low-budget film that suffers from the usual lack of funds to add more polish. But it nails the rhetoric and power dynamics of American fundamentalists.
This strength is seen as four fundamentalist missionaries live and reach out to a low-income neighborhood in LA. They minister to the neighborhood as naive white people who baptize members of their micro church in a kiddie pool in their driveway. The plot begins with the exorcism of new church attendee and gang member by Eli (Gregory Shelbi), the charismatic and attractive leader. Closeted and quiet Jordan (AJ Knight), sheltered Kara (Megan Hensley), and mean girl Lindsey (Kelsey Boze) all help Eli perform the exorcism.
Each character is stereotyped and overly familiar, as are all the side characters. The plot progresses predictably, with Jordan having erotic fantasies about Eli and then is caught watching him shower. The sexual tension between these two characters gets to be ridiculous at times. And the shocks of the third act are somewhat softened by the low production value, too.
But what makes this film work is the rhetoric and power dynamics between the four missionaries. Some viewers could see the dialogue as shallow and basic, but it is truly representative of some American fundamentalists. What could be the most horrific part of the film would be the treatment of gay character Jordan by the others. He’s shamed and ostracized, leading to a climax that works on two levels.
The film can be viewed as a low-budget exorcism film, but it also features a subtext of the consequences of fundamentalist religion on queer people. The main crux of the film is psychosexual tension between Jordan and Eli, almost as if someone was trying to make a queer exorcism movie in the style of Brian De Palma. This subtext is consistent and works well in building up to the climax, making this a challenging watch for any queer person.
Just A Closer Walk With Thee is streaming on Kanopy.
- Eric Beach