From Nosferatu to A Nightmare on Elm Street, LGBTQ+ viewers have long tected a queer unrtone many horror films. Now the genre is brgg s gay subtext to the surface
Contents:
A look at how queer horror films have evolved over time, asssg more than 50 films that span the gay ghosts of the early 20th century to The Babadook. * queer horror films *
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. 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.
Given that homosexualy was nsired eher a physil or psychologil malady the early 20th century, the effectively legislated any limed queer prence out of existence.
The spookit, and gayt, time of year is here! * queer horror films *
While homosexualy was not explicly banned the Hays’ text, was mandated that “no picture shall be produced that will lower the moral standards of those who see . It also doubl as a timele of the evolutn of queer horror: How LGBTQA them and characters went om hidg between the l movi wh “gay sensibili” the 1930s to breakg out as Pri mem almost a century later — gog om visible (lbian ghosts! Benshoff explas his book Monsters the Closet: Homosexualy the Horror Film, “Immediately before and durg the years of World War II, Universal Stud’s horror films began to employ a more humanistic pictn of their monsters, ” and the films of Val Lewton, like Cat People, reflected “a growg awarens of homosexualy, homosexual muni, and the dynamics of homosexual opprsn as was played out society and the ary.