let's be real: the best horror films are queer horror films.
The horror genre has been low-key gay since its founding. And there are some very good reasons why.
Well, here we are folks! It’s National Coming Out Day and we’re at the height of one of the spookiest spooky seasons of all time (pandemics and crises of democracy are pretty terrifying). I can’t imagine a more appropriate moment to talk queer horror.
Horror, at its best, has always been queer. According to Jay Jenkins, who is behind Valancourt Books, a small press that focuses on rediscovered out-of-print fiction including horror, this dates back to Gothic novels of the late 18th century. One example is Matthew Lewis’s The Monk (1796), which has a super predatory premise where a monk falls in love with a younger man who was actually a woman in disguise (I’m guessing the plot doesn’t hold up great in 2020).
As we fast forward toward current day, Vulture’s ranking of 55 essential queer horror films points out that the Hays Code (in effect in Hollywood from 1934 until 1967) essentially forbade explicit queer representation in films. So, implicit representation was often delivered through villain roles.
Iconic horror villains like Dracula, Frankenstein, Pennywise, Pinhead and Norman Bates have always had a flair for drama, l00ks and an outsider status. These qualities have long been #relatable or even aspirational for many queers from an early age. For many of us, that fascination never wears off, and then we become #horrorgays.
Queer is horror. Horror is queer. (Portlandia/IFC)
Why specifically are there so many #horrorgays? This recent TikTok from @heartthrobert boiled it down to three reasons:
Theatrics: the lethal combination of camp and death — think Divine and Elvira
Strong female leads: fem power is intoxicating for queer folks — especially “final girls” like Laurie Strode and Sidney Prescott
Villains on the DL: concealed identities and toxic men, oh my — here’s your Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees types
I first got really into horror movies in late high school, not so coincidentally around the same time I was coming to terms with my own queerness. While I had seen some horror blockbusters like The Ring with friends in theaters. It wasn’t until the last summer I spent living in my hometown (after my freshman year of college) that my obsession took hold. I was waiting tables at a sit-down Pizza Hut and, after almost every shift, I’d drive over to the video rental store to check out another horror classic to watch by myself in my bedroom (on VHS, no less, for added #aesthetics).
Night by night, shift by shift, I worked my way through the entire Halloween franchise (yes, even Halloween 3: Season of the Witch). Then came all the Friday the 13ths and Nightmares on Elm Street. As I was discovering myself, I was reveling in the swirling darkness being reflected back to me on the screen.
In anxiety-riddled times like these, I find myself falling back on horror films. In the end, no matter how gory or horrifying the premise, I feel more relaxed and comforted than I was when I started the film. I recently put on Final Destination 4 to take a nap. Science suggests this might not be my personal nostalgia for the genre at work here. Research has shown that horror films can be good for people who are experiencing anxiety. Additionally, the horror genre is particularly effective at reflecting and helping people process the real-life horrors of our time: just look at the recent success of “social thrillers” like Get Out, Us, The Purge franchise and Parasite.
So, if you need a break from doom-scrolling, a dip into the horror pond might just do the trick. Below, some of my favorite horror films with queer characters, themes and/or vibes. And if the film is streaming somewhere, I’ve included that information (current as of 10/11/20).
The Craft (1996) — Apple TV
Death Becomes Her (1992)
Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988) — Hulu
Fright Night (1985)
Ginger Snaps (2000) — Amazon Prime
The Haunting (1963)
The Hunger (1980)
Jennifer’s Body (2009)
The Love Witch (2016) — Amazon Prime
May (2002)
Multiple Maniacs (1970) — HBO Max
Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985) — Shudder
Serial Mom (1994)
Sleepaway Camp (1982) — Shudder
Suspiria (1977)
Suspiria (2018) — Amazon Prime
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Read: Continuing with the queer horror vibe, I’m currently reading Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist for the first time for the queer book club I’m in. This book is gay, gay, gay and much better (in my opinion) than both of the movies (the U.S. one, especially). If you want a spooky gay read for the season, it’s a solid option. Another suggestion: Carmen Maria Machado’s Her Body and Other Parties is a sensational collection of scary short stories.
Watch: You may have noticed the above list was completely missing any Netflix representation. The streamer has definitely been, in my opinion, missing out on quality horror for a while now, though its release of The Haunting of Bly Manor is certainly helping its horror rep. Also, another half-dozen Unsolved Mysteries episodes are dropping on Oct. 19, so that’s some good news for us spooky types.
Listen: Sade just came out with a six-album vinyl box set called This Far, and it’s been a while since I’ve coveted something so extravagant. While the concert tour industry remains nonexistent, eventually succumbing to buying this is probably the closest I’ll come to crossing Sade off my short list of bands I’m really, really, really hoping to see perform live some day. (Any guesses on the other two bands or acts in the top three of my list?) Anyway, here’s Sade live at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 1984. Icon.