The Intersection of Queer Culture and Horror Films
As we head into the cold, dreary winter months, we can find a different kind of solace from snuggling up with a friend or loved one and watching a horror film. Since October and Halloween has come and gone, we enjoy this genre for different reasons.
During the month of October, our senses are engaged. Just like all seasons, Autumn brings its own special effect on our sensory faculties. It is the end of summer when life was at its fullest. Flowers were in bloom, grass grew with hast and we are all were overflowing with energy and warmth.
I think that the main reason why horror films are so attractive in the fall is because of our death perception. Everything around us starts to decay. The air is colder and heavier, leaves fall from trees, and flowers wilt. It is not just something you can see, but you can feel in every fiber of your being. It is the smell of dead leaves and carved pumpkins. The crunch of dry foliage that you kick while on a walk. It is the colors that give you warmth when the temperatures drop.
It is romantic, eerie, and the perfect setting for Halloween celebrations.
Like Autumn, winter is also an excellent time for watching horror films, but for entirely different reasons. We have pushed through the dying phase of October, and now everything is now dead. It is cold, it is dark. It is the ideal time to watch something that thaws our frozen senses. A good horror film will make you feel more during this stagnant season than almost any other genre. It is not just about thrills and a good jump scare. We go through almost every winter day on autopilot, missing quintessential pieces of life that make us human in order to bypass the frigid, shitty weather. A good horror movie can force you to feel everything you are avoiding.
I want to look at the intersection between queer culture and horror films. This is my personal exploration and opinion on how the two are so closely connected. Through this investigation, I aim to identify the relationship between queerness and the provocation of anxiety that is inflicted by scary movies. I also am going to look through some of the classic movies and novels and show how they are rooted in queer culture.
Through The Looking Glass: Isolation & Forbidden Passion
Most of us horror movie fanatics dedicate a huge portion of our time to spook and the love of a good scare. Whereas, most non-horror movie lovers and people who indulge in moderation leave their dedication for celebrations like Halloween.
With that being said, Halloween is also an extension of Pride for the LGBTQ+. It is a chance to dress up and express yourself without societal restrictions that are thrust upon each one of us. In almost all horror movies, there is an innocent, or group of innocents that are terrorized by a sinister force. Be it a killer, monster, demon, alien, bully, or whatever. There is one commonality between these characters, and it is that they all have fear. Whether it is a secret being kept, a hidden trauma, or a physical or mental abnormality. The innocent is different than the rest of the characters. Keep in mind, this does not mean the innocent is not popular or likable. There are countless scenarios where the school's most popular person is suffering deeply, but no one knows.
This innocent is then pursued by a monster or spirit. This haunting can be seen as a metaphor for the innocents’ own inclinations, or what was once called perversions. If you look at classics like Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula or FW Murnau’s film Nosferatu, these monsters may be symbolizing the creator's own homosexuality. It has been widely thought that Bram Stoker was gay. These speculations came from his openly sexless marriage and his adoration for his male peers, like Walt Whitman and Hall Caine. Additionally, FW Murnau lived as an openly gay man. Nosferatu came after Dracula and it can be inferred that he felt drawn to the vampire character for those reasons.
In cinema, prior to the late 60s, anything deemed homosexual was forbidden from being seen on screen. And, even after, almost anyone depicting queerness was either killed off quickly or shown as the bad guy. A very unsympathetic portrayal. This would give anyone in the audience who identified with those characters the notion “I guess we are fucked either way.” But, most of us know that feeling all too well, we are used to it. And, some of us can just be grateful that there is some form of queer representation on screen, even if it is a total stereotype.
This then introduced villainous gays, being seen as deviants or evil. Not only do these creatures give us sight into the potential self-loathing that their creators may have felt, but they can also portray the severe isolation many queer people go through during their journey. These inhuman entities would sometimes blame their decisions and brutality on their "issues" - like being gay. This often portrayed queer people in a negative light which furthered harmful stereotypes. Like, in the 80s slasher, Sleep Away Camp, the main character is a young trans girl who gets severely bullied resulting in her going on a murderous spree. Many considered this to be an entirely transphobic depiction. However, a cool perspective that I first heard on Ru Paul’s Drag Race season 4, is when Sharron Needles called them “revenge films”. Although I do agree with that notion to a certain extent, there are many scenes in that specific movie and many others that are degrading to trans people.
I have come across many people who do not like horror movies at all. A reason I hear most often is that they cause them to feel anxious. I believe that the anxious response is because horror movies activate the parts of us that are reacting to fear. Perhaps, when we watch a horror movie, we are unknowingly empathizing with one of the characters. This engagement may be either comforting or completely unsettling, depending on your relationship with anxiety in the real world. Not many of us can relate to being hunted by a deranged killer. But, almost all of us can relate to running from or being terrified of a situation in our lives. Especially for many queer people. For example, the event of "coming out" and being "closeted", can be terrifying. It could feel like our truth is gaining on us and we may not be ready, or safe enough to fully acknowledge it. That is just one of many examples. However, the congruency between real-life anxiety and that which can be obtained from watching a horror movie is apparent.
Iconic On-Screen Creature Queerness
There are huge amounts of horror films that inadvertently nod to the queer community. There is not necessarily blatant statements or cries of gayness. Rather, subtle nuances and suggestions that are most likely, easier to be identified by those in the LGBTQ+ community.
For example, Vampires are creatures that are most easily connected to homonormativity. They are frequently presented comfortably as being feminine and masculine. Going back to Dracula, he shoos away female vampires to claim Jonathon Harker, “This man belongs to me!” Even before the Dracula novel came to be, was Carmilla written by Sheridan Le Fanu. Carmilla is the prototype for lesbian vampires, although the book never outwardly acknowledges any gayness, it is inferred.
In The Frankenstein sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein, the famous creature finds himself ostracized by society yet again and finds comfort with a blind hermit. Dr. Frankenstein, played by Colin Clive, also bears a heavy gay emblem as he is lured away from his wedding bed by the flamboyant Dr. Pretorius, played by Ernest Thesiger. Furthermore, both actors, Ernest Thesiger and Colin Clive were rumored to be gay in real life as well.
Lastly, “the gayest slasher film of all time,” Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge! If you have seen any of the Freddy movies you will see some subtle and not-so-subtle gay undertones. The film has Jesse, played by Mark Patton, being dream-haunted by Freddy and coerced to carry out his dirty deeds. The more Freddy uses Jesse, the more Jesse grows to fight hetero-normalities. One example is the scene where Jesse is kissing Lisa and becomes so physically repulsed that he takes off running to confide in his shirtless friend Grady. Writer, David Chaskin, eventually admits to “purposely featuring subtextual homoeroticism.” Note that this movie came out in 1985 which was the height of the AIDS crisis and rampant homophobia.
The Roots Grow Deep
Well, needless to say, the roots of gay culture grow deep in horror cinema. Queer horror is everything and it is everywhere, whether you choose to see it that way or not. Some of the most popular horror characters are modeled through queerness. Like, Pinhead from Hellraiser, who was not originally written as male but has always been queer. Director Clive Barker, an openly gay man, wanted Pinhead depicted as androgynous. In the new Hellraiser film, Pinhead is played by transgender actress Jamie Clayton. This choice to cast a woman was criticized, but in the 1986 novella that Hellraiser is based on, The Hellbound Heart, pinhead is essentially genderless.
Going back in time to the early 60s, in Robert Wise’ The Haunting, a paranormal detective convinces two women to help him investigate a haunted house. This was a very early depiction of lesbianism in film. Remember, any form of a same-sex relationship was not allowed to be shown on screen until 1968. We have discussed Carmilla as well, dating back to the late 1800s. Although homosexuality was not outwardly discussed, it was left to the audience to see the subtle hints.
Through time and progress, however slow and sometimes indistinguishable, we saw more and more queerness on screen. Throughout the 70s we saw drag queen Divine bring wickedly dark humor to the horror genre. These underground, cult classic films created by John Waters, are widely celebrated by the LGBTQ+ community. Additionally, they are also an important trailblazer in punk culture. Some consider Divine in Pink Flamingos to be “the most important queer film of all time.” The Trash Trilogy is infamous for the revolting and completely unconventional scenes. Most of these are centered around exhibitionism, sodomy, masturbation, rape, incest, murder, and cannibalism. It is considered both dark comedy and horror - really, its only reason for being a comedy is because of Divine.
How to Find and How to Watch
I feel like these days whenever I sit down to watch a movie with a friend, we always want to check reviews. To me, I sort of hate that. When I was young, I would go to Walmart and pick something out of the $2 bin. It was almost always a low-budget zombie film. Sometimes, we would go to Blockbuster or another movie rental spot and I would grab a movie with the scariest-looking image or title. I very rarely read the description, I preferred to go in blind. No matter how bad, or how good it was, it was that experience that made me fall so deeply in love with horror movies. My parents hated scary movies so I would usually watch them alone or with my best friend. It became a weekend ritual.
Now, with Netflix and all those other streaming services, we must work really hard to create that experience. Most of the time, we deny ourselves the pleasure of watching a brutally cheesy horror movie. Who would want to watch a bad movie? I get it - but there is something really intimate and for me, nostalgic about deciding on a movie at random even if it turns out to be stupid. Sometimes, even if the movie was overall bad, there will be a piece or moment when watching that will resonate with you. If you look hard enough, you can find a hidden message or discrete symbolism that gives a poorly-executed film a deeper message.
If you love horror movies and do not know what to watch, challenge yourself to pick one at random. See where it takes you. Just pick solely off the name and cover art.
Or, just stream on Shudder and pick one with 5/5 skulls.
