What's So Gay About Horror Movies?

It features a gay actor playing what appears to be a  closeted gay man possessed by a demon that seems to represent homosexuality, which leads him to kill male friends and his coach, sometimes in homoerotic ways.

 I'm schocked that this movie was made this way. It's kinda funny that the real monster a teenage boy is facing is his latent homosexuality.

Thanks a lot for this Brian. Some of this a didnt know. I look forward to finding some of them.

Sigh...Clive Barker was such a fox...sigh.

Thanks again.

Great article - I love reading your opinions on horror movies (both here and on your www.campblood.org site) - you've influenced my DVD collection more than you know - that's the compliment part now here's the request part. I would love to see you put together a recommendation list on Amazon.com - whenever I read your reviews I always tend to have another window open w/ Amazon there so I can see if the movie is on DVD and available - I know you probably have no time but I'm pretty sure your fans would appreciate it :)

 -J

Just read the article and its great.  Just one thing...the picture of Pacino in Cruising>? Dont get me wrong, i love the flick.  the whole swapping of the actors who played the killer (s) and the victims in the various scenes, the leather history it now represents (mineshaft, et all) 

 its more a psycological drama than a horror or thriller, in my book of course

peace,

 Just

Great article Brian.  Your knowledge and deconstruction of gay characters and themes in horror films is quite impressive.

I was hoping to hear your thoughts on the gayest horror movie I have ever seen -- other than A Nightmare On Elm Street 2, that is -- the incredibly funny and shocking Sleepaway Camp.  From the scene of the two gay dads in bed together, the 80's short-shorts on the boys, or the surprise twist at the end, that movie is gonzo gay.

I know you could not cover everything, and I certainly loved reading about the flicks you did cover.

I found a very interesting set of videos from the Los Angeles Outfest 2004.  It is a very interesting lecture about gay characters in horror films.  It is a delightful companion piece to your article.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8gG9aMwir0

One of my all-time faves.  I saw it at age 16 until 1 in the morning, and literally could not go upstairs to bed for another half hour because there was no light at the top of the stairs, and I was afraid of what might be waiting for me up there in the dark...

I always thought of Norman Bates as a transgendered person in many ways, and his story (carried on through "Psycho II" "III" and "IV") has heavy overtones of classic Greek tragedy.  I wrote an essay years ago about the movie, the character, and Anthony Perkins' life that got filed away in a drawer; if Brian's interested I'll pass it along to him, and see if it's something After Elton might be interested in.

Great article as always.  I have to say though that while there's that little bit of me searching hopelessly for that gay character in the mainstream horror flick, a bigger part of my heart gets lost to the gay horror flims that we have today.  As much as I enjoyed Hellbent or In the Blood, I still want to see a gay hero who isn't conflicted with anything related to his sexuality (or loss of eyeball... weird!) and can swing an axe just as well as the next scream queen.  Also, I think its time us gay horror fans start calling out these studios for our version of the "obligatory boob shot", with of course it being changed to "OBLIGATORY JUNK SHOT"!!!

Brilliant article!  We do need to give credit to horror master Ken Russell, whose films were always gay in sensibility.  The above-mentioned Crimes of Passion, with a dildo-wielding Anthony Perkins.  

Gothic, with a nude Julian Sands as Percy Shelley in the story of the writing of Frankenstein.  

Altered States, with a nude William Hurt throughout.  

And my favorite, LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM -- which is the campiest film ever, this side of John Waters.  Honestly, if you have never seen it, get LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM -- Hugh Grant as the male ingenue, Katherine Oxenberg in her underwear being terrorized by a painted-blue, strap-on-wearing, wyrm-worshipping Amanda Donohoe.  The movie even quotes Oscar Wilde for goodness sakes!

Terror Train was one of my all time favorites.  You gotta love a sadistic killer who does not mind putting on the pumps, wigs and a full face to slaughter someone. LOL (Psyco & Dressed to Kill)   Not to mention that Ms. Curtis (the ultimate scream queen) was featured in this 80's classic.  I nominate this one for a remake!!!

Another sleeper is STUDENT BODIES.  There are loads of seuxal undertones all up and thru on this one!!!

It's been years (ok, actually, 2 decades) since I've seen it, but I interepreted Jamie Lee Curtis' younger brother in the original Prom Night--who figures prominantly in the climax--as a repressed homosexual.... Or is my memory playing tricks with me?

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Thanks for the well-done article on horror movies and gays. I was hesitant to check it out -- I expected it to focus solely on recent pop horror movies but was proven wrong. Serious points scored for mentioning Andy Milligan and BUTCHER, BAKER.

Also worth noting is that Dario Argento has had positive gay characters in his films too. In BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE, the detective was an actual positive gay character who gets offed. DEEP RED has a main character who's struggling with his sexuality, a rather sad character too who meets a nasty fate. And of course, there's his latest release, MOTHER OF TEARS, which has one of his cruelest fates in any of his movies for a lesbian couple. Anti-gay? Hardly. And he's discussed this too. He identifies with gays, since they are often outcasts as he has felt about himself in his life.

Argento got it right the first time.

Tangential to his gay-friendliness is his perpetual casting of Udo Kier.