Ryan Kney looks at three horror films that feature Black gay leads and exam how there are so few films that feature queer characters.
Contents:
- SEARCH ALL 259 GAY HORROR MOVI LGBT HORROR MOVI
- OTHER, SQUARED: WHERE ARE THE BLACK GAY HORROR LEADS?
- THE NIGHTMARE BEHD THE GAYT HORROR FILM EVER MA
- 6 HOLLYWOOD LSONS LEARNED THE HARD WAY BY GAY HORROR FILMMAKERS
SEARCH ALL 259 GAY HORROR MOVI LGBT HORROR MOVI
The spookit, and gayt, time of year is here! * gay horror faces *
While some earlier films do clu overtly gay them, thgs went unrground durg the Hays Co era, and the reverberatns of that subversive queerns rema uful to this day. A tan of classic horror, gay filmmaker Jam Whale wove queerns to most of his films, which clu the origal “Frankenste” and “The Invisible Man.
But as wh so much of Hchck, ’s hard to say that this is an outright homophobic visn, pecially when the script has the souciance of Osr Wil: “Before this day is out I fear we’ll hear that terribly old-fashned but que exprsive term ‘foul play, ’” Sanrs says, all while munchg on a chicken leg. ” The remarkable thg about all this is that Hchck mak you intify wh Perks (who was gay and closeted real life) as much as he did Marn Crane herself, to the pot that, as Hchck often did at his perverse bt, you’re kda rootg for him.
A prolific and succsful horror fictn wrer who began directg to adapt his work himself, out gay filmmaker Clive Barker is rponsible for two of the films on this list, “Nightbreed” and “Hellraiser. Though didn’t spawn any sequels, “Nightbreed” was more crilly embraced than “Hellraiser” and is nsired a direct metaphor for gay activism.
OTHER, SQUARED: WHERE ARE THE BLACK GAY HORROR LEADS?
Horror films haven’t always been kd to gay characters, though LGBTQ viewers mata a wonrfully unique relatnship wh the genre. * gay horror faces *
“In many ways, ‘Interview’ is the most mercially succsful gay film of all time, and most dienc didn’t even realize they were seeg a gay film. In fact, ’s so beloved by queer women that ’s hard to believe there is virtually nothg explicly gay about “The Craft. Takg the token gay iend to his rightfully sensual ends, her roommate Adrien luxuriat his sexualy, brgg boys home and flntg the pleasur of the flh that seem so out of reach to the raveno Jte.
THE NIGHTMARE BEHD THE GAYT HORROR FILM EVER MA
Fd every LGBT horror movie ever ma at Disver, rate and save the srit gay horror movi right here, right now. * gay horror faces *
For 2019’s “Midnight Kiss, ” a sexy gay slasher set amongst a group of LA gay iends on New Year’s Eve, Blumhoe tapped out gay talent — wrer Erlgur Thoroddsen and director Carter Smh, who also hired all queer actors for the queer rol. Before homosexualy was formally legislated out of existence Hollywood by the Productn Co — monly referred to as the Hays Co, which tablished mandat for “moral standards” motn pictur and banned pictns of “sexual perversy” — the legendary filmmaker Jam Whale was buildg the foundatn for Amerin genre cema wh films like Frankenste, The Old Dark Hoe, and The Invisible Man. Here was Whale, a gay man, buildg horror his own image and havg astoundg box office succs as some groups were lobbyg Hollywood to censor queerns out of existence.
6 HOLLYWOOD LSONS LEARNED THE HARD WAY BY GAY HORROR FILMMAKERS
Now we n choose om a lbian domtic drama volvg a baby werewolf Good Manners, a transfemist vampire movie B, or a French slasher set a gay porn muny wh Knife + Heart. If you're the mood for somethg spooky and sry this year, we've got some great -- and gay AF -- clive horror films and seri for you.