I obviously am down for exposing the evils of conversion therapy, but as a work of art, this is pretty pedestrian, and as reportage, it’s mostly done better elsewhere.

| Mar 24, 2023

What Kristen Stolakis’s Pray Away does so well, and powerfully so, is listen.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 9, 2022

Though certain moments can feel hard to stomach, Pray Away does prove necessary, particularly for those who are still blind to just how deleterious this practice can be.

| Sep 26, 2022

Propels really important messages and reflections... [Full review in Spanish]

| Jul 14, 2022

Remind[s] us that the fraud of conversion therapy is still out there, actively claiming victims.

| May 20, 2022

Theres something painfully All About Eve in this cyclical nightmare of systemic indoctrination.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 27, 2022

Honest, brutal, empathetic, and tragic; the film does its subject justice and creates a satisfying final product that immediately declares Kristine Stolakis a force to be reckoned with in the documentary genre

| Original Score: A | Feb 15, 2022

This is a powerful film because of the emotional personal stories of a few people harmed by religious sexual conversion therapy. It should be noted that this film is not based on science, despite its references to studies and statistics.

| Original Score: A | Jan 28, 2022

As a film, I found "Pray Away" intriguing; it is like a feature article in a magazine filled with pictures and personal stories.

| Oct 8, 2021

The builders of this group, who ultimately left and renounced it, are the prime talking heads in Kristine Stolakis's sadly compelling film...

| Sep 14, 2021

My brain almost exploded when watching this doc! No one should have to endure conversion therapy under the guise of "praying away" the gay. It's ignorant and cruel. Ryan Murphy has done it again as a truth sayer in the community

| Aug 30, 2021

The night and day differences between the subjects' past and current selves are compelling; Paulk seems much more relaxed now, while Cantu Schneider has an air of introspectiveness.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Aug 29, 2021

There's far too much focus on the practitioners and lobbyists and not enough on the survivors, who have the far more relatable and sympathetic stories to tell.

| Original Score: 5/10 | Aug 23, 2021

Pray Away is an empathetic documentary that explores the origins of the gay conversion movement, some of its now remorseful leaders, and the immense trauma it inflicted on young gay people growing up in the church.

| Aug 21, 2021

Though hard to watch in parts, Pray Away is a well-made film. It blows the lid off the phony ministries who do this kind of work and exposes them for what they are.

| Aug 13, 2021

A nimble blending of past and present footage and testimonies from key first-hand sources offers a devastating exposé of a controversial and ongoing movement in this documentary.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 11, 2021

"Pray Away" may end on a note of hope, as a former Exodus leader marries the love of her life and celebrates her love for her wife and herself, but it is McCall the camera lingers on at the end.

| Original Score: A- | Aug 10, 2021

The choices made leave Pray Away as exactly the kind of basic documentary that gets easily sold and just as easily forgotten about.

| Aug 8, 2021

With every added account of shameful contrition, the realization that this issue exists very much in the present tense weighs heavy on the viewer...

| Aug 6, 2021

It's an attempt at reparation by some of those involved, and a moving collection of personal stories.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 6, 2021