Gay Mormon Director Remakes Camp Classic

Drag impersonator Stacey Whitmire, a.k.a. Johnny Kat, plays the part of Isoldi Keane, the evil Mormon elder who hypnotizes and seduces young girls

Drag impersonator Stacey Whitmire, a.k.a. Johnny Kat, plays the part of Isoldi Keane, the evil Mormon elder who hypnotizes and seduces young girls

by Jason Clark
May 2005

Running Time: 69 minutes
Rating: Probably R

Members of the Affirmation Washington DC Chapter went May 7 to the Warehouse Screening Room, in Washington DC, to screen a new version of the 1922 silent movie Trapped by the Mormons. Directed by Ian Allen, a gay Mormon from Washington D.C., this new version of the camp classic highlights the film’s sexual overtones and includes a vampire-themed grand finale.

Made during four weekends last October with a budget of $10,000, Ian’s original idea was to adapt Trapped by the Mormons for the stage, but it ended up as a film project. All the actors donated their time for the project, which was carried out with borrowed costumes and props.

This version of the anti-Mormon classic also includes a little bit of gender-bending, as drag impersonator Stacey Whitmire, a.k.a. Johnny Kat, plays the part Isoldi Keane, the evil Mormon elder who hypnotizes and seduces young girls.

“This is not an anti-Mormon film-It’s a parody of an anti-Mormon film,” says Ian, who sees Trapped by the Mormons as a comment on people’s paranoia towards conservative religious groups such as Muslims and Mormons. Ian was the only Mormon involved in the project, but several Mormons, including members of the Affirmation Washington DC Chapter, have since seen the film.

Ian is currently writing a play about 9-11 told through the events of the Mountain Meadows Massacre (which also took place on a 9-11).

After a 3-week run in Washington DC, Allen is planning to take his movie to the festival circuit, New York, and Salt Lake City.