Queer Horror

By: Casandra Vicario

It's June, Pride Month, and so at MACABRO we set out to research and reflect a little on this topic. It's not new — there are homosexual references in Gothic literature, but in film it has found a place to nest and grow into a subgenre: “Queer horror” Will you join us to get to know it?

The term “Queer Horror” covers both film and literature, and of course includes the world of horror — this type of narrative includes any work with an LGBTTI+ character or theme.

As I mentioned a few lines above, this isn't new: in literature, a work as important to vampire fiction as “Carmilla”, by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, carries a strong lesbian undertone.

Today, “Queer Horror” is a subgenre in which the protagonists are gay or the films are aimed specifically at an LGBTTTI+ audience.

Some films that many of us know and enjoy, part of the horror and science fiction canon, carry strong homosexual references — for example “Vampire Lovers” (1970), “Interview with the Vampire” (1994), “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (1975), “The Hunger” (1983), or even “Seed of Chucky” (2004), in which Chucky and Tiffany become parents (don't ask how or why) to a transgender kid known as Glen or Glenda.

Without going into too much detail, it's worth mentioning that, by law, American cinema was banned from making any literal mention of homosexuality, so in many cases these references stayed “in the closet.”

But what do you say we now delve a little into the current world of “Queer Horror” and recommend a few films from this subgenre so you can get to know it better.

We start with a gay adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's “The Shadow over Innsmouth,” a film called “Cthulhu”, in which Russell returns to his hometown after his father's death and has to confront a tradition: getting married and having children — but how is he going to manage that if he's gay? The film is from 2007 and was directed by Dan Giltark.

From director Bruce LaBruce, we highly recommend “Otto; or, Up with Dead People” (2008). Otto is a member of the walking dead with identity issues (it seems he's gay). Everything changes when he happens to spot a poster advertising auditions for a zombie movie.

Joe Ahearme is behind the director's chair for the 2017 film “Bed and Breakfast”. The plot is simple: two guys return to the same Christian hotel where they were once discriminated against, seeking revenge, but a mysterious guest starts killing everyone and things get ugly. This film won Best LGBT+ Film at the London Independent Film Festival.

Gay investigator Luigui Mackeroni is determined to solve the mystery behind a string of castrations, in the film “Killer Condom” (1996) by Martín Walz.

We continue on our journey through “Queer Horror” and now we head to the year 2002, when Sharon Ferrati gives us the film “Make a Wish”, at the time, the film was marketed as “the lesbian version of Psycho.”

A group of lesbians go away for the weekend to a campground and start being brutally murdered — not because of their sexual orientation, but for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In “Kissing Darkness” (2014), directed by James Townsend, a group of young people, fed up with the daily gay life of Los Angeles, decide to escape to the mountains for the weekend instead of going to the Pride march; unfortunately for them, they awaken the vengeful spirit of Malice Valeria.

Now let's get to know the short film “I was a teenage werebear”, from 2011, in which a teenage boy who hasn't come out of the closet turns into a beast after being bitten by a classmate. This short was directed by Tim Sullivan.

But Lovecraft isn't the only one with a gay adaptation of his stories — the same goes for Edgar Allan Poe, and a good example of that is the version of “House of Usher” that David De Cocteau made in 2008.

An interesting film is “Socket” (2007) by Sean Abley. Dr. Bill Mathews is literally struck by lightning and survives; while recovering at the hospital where he works, he starts a romantic relationship with Dr. Craig Murphy, who invites him to join a “support” group for survivors of electric shocks, in which it gradually becomes clear that its members have a very particular relationship with electricity.

Our next film is called “Yeti. A Love Story” (2006) from Troma Films, in which a group of young people who go camping after the death of a school friend face off against a cult — and a gay Yeti. It was directed by Adam Deyoe and Eric Gosselin.

What do you say I tell you now about “Poltergay” by Eric Lavaine, a 2006 film in which we witness the adventures of Marc and Ema, a couple who move into a house without knowing its basement was a gay club in the '70s — one that burned down with all the gay men inside, who now haunt the new arrivals.

We can't let it pass without mentioning “Swoon” by Tom Kalin, a 1992 film that tells the story of Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold, a gay couple who kidnap and kill a child (a real-life case).

Now in Mexican theaters is “Knife+Heart” by Yann González, a film heavily influenced by giallo cinema, and by the maestro Dario Argento in particular.

And as the old, well-known saying goes, “Save the best for last,” one of the most important films of “Queer Horror” is “Hellbent” by Paul Ethredge, considered the first horror film with a gay theme; in it, we face a homophobic psycho dressed as the devil who kills gay men while they're having sex.

So there you have a bit about this new subgenre — get to know it, enjoy it, you're going to have fun.