As Published on The 26
Parenting is hard, but not as hard as having to raise a stepson whom you are convinced may be the antichrist. That’s exactly what Gary Bloom, played by Adam Scott, has to deal with in the 2017 American horror comedy film, “Little Evil,” that was released by Netflix on September 1, 2017.
You get all of your creaks, moans, jump-scares, classic horror movie references, and an outlandish story with a satirical take with the film written and directed by Eli Craig. However, I was surprised to find that the film also subtly promoted an understanding and acceptance of gender fluidity.
The subject of gender silently comes up in the film with the character of Al, played by Bridget Everett, Gary’s work friend and closest ally who encourages Gary to attend a support group for step-dads. Al, who calls themself a step-dad, seems to casually suggest that they self-identify with he/him pronouns, although it’s never really confirmed. What’s great about the film is that Al’s gender identity isn’t the focal point of the character, nor is Al’s gender identity at the butt of any jokes.
Gender is not the be-all-end-all of Al’s character, and it was refreshing to see a leading witty gender-fluid character in a mainstream film. I think the film took a positive step forward in highlighting people other than cisgender individuals, or someone who has a gender identity that aligns with what they were assigned at birth. I would love to see more actors who also identify as individuals who are not cisgender to play those roles in the future.
Little Evil stars Adam Scott, Evangeline Lilly, Owen Atlas, Bridget Everett, Kyle Bornheimer, Chris D’Elia, Donald Faison, Carla Gallo, Tyler Labine, Brad Williams, Clancy Brown, and Sally Field. It is still available for streaming on Netflix as of December 2017.
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