Queer Horror in Films and TV.

Just as a sidenote, these are my thoughts on queer characters and concepts in horror. My words are merely from thoughts, and not to be taken as facts. I will be talking about my favorite queer horror film, actors, and characters in horror films.

Did you know that some big horror franchises were started by queer people? Don Mancini, the creator of the Child’s Play franchise, is a gay man. His creation is part of the reason people hate dolls. The franchise has spawned seven movies, three seasons of a wonderful tv show, and a (unrelated to the creator) remake movie which I have heard is not bad. And, especially recently, he hasn’t been afraid to make the show in all of it’s queerness. Two of the main characters of tv show are gay teens and Seed of Chucky brought us Glen/Glenda (and then Season Two of the show brought them back with Lachlan Watson playing both characters.) The entire storyline of the franchise itself is fantastic.

There’s also American Horror Story showrunner, Ryan Murphy. I am not a huge fan of his other shows, as some of the humor and dialogue just doesn’t do it for me. But American Horror Story: Murder House, and Coven are two of my favorite seasons of television. He’s also the showrunner for Scream Queens, which is a slasher show. Anyone who knows me, knows I love whodunnit slashers. Scream Queens has a wonderful stacked cast, but again. Certain aspects of dialogue and scenes from the show just rub me the wrong way.

Possibly one of my favorite queer horror films out there is Death Drop Gorgeous. I have talked about this movie before in posts on my other blog. This movie is made by the team of Monster Makeup, and featured a premise of two people, a young gay bartender and and an aging drag queen, trying to navigate nightlife, while a killer goes around draining twinks of their blood. This movie is pure camp, and hella queer. I love the two lead characters in this film so much, Dwayne and Gloria Hole. I love the creative kills. And honestly, the twists and turns in the last thirty minutes of the film had me hooked. And one of the best things about this film, is that you can really tell how much love they have for the genre of horror.

Writer and producer, Kevin Williamson is responsible for writing the first two Scream movies (and the fourth) and being a producer on the other three. He is also coming back as a director on the upcoming seventh film (which I have thoughts on, because I am a Melissa Barerra fan who thinks she was done super dirty by Spyglass.) Kevin is responsible for so many of the cool things that make the Scream franchise special. He was responsible for the most iconic movie opening/fakeout ever with Drew Barrymore’s Casey Becker, and introducing two killers. These would both become staples of the Scream franchise, even in the TV shows. Williamson is also responsible for writing and producing other slashers too, like Sick, The Faculty, and the first I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Scream (as in the franchise, both movie and television) has also featured queer elements and characters. People have interpreted the relationship between Billy and Stu as a queer one, though I am not sure how accurate it is. I mean I can totally see it, kind of? Both characters were wonderfully played by two amazing actors. However, the two newest Scream films feature one of my favorite queer women in horror, in Jasmin Savoy Brown’s Mindy Meeks-Martin. Horror savvy and queer is such a wonderful combination, especially in horror media. I have always thought she was such a wonderful character, and her girlfriend from the latest film, Anika, was also so likeable and they just had such a beautiful relationship with one another. Meanwhile, over on the TV front, Aubrey Jensen (played by the magnificent Bex Taylor-Klaus) is a wonderfully complicated main character who I really enjoy watching on screen.

The anthology tv show, Slasher, is split between Shudder/Netflix/Apple TV. While it is not specifically a queer tv show, it does introduce several queer characters and cast members along it’s five seasons. My favorite character amongst them is O’Keefe from the fourth season, Flesh and Blood. True to this shows name, it features gruesome and bloody kills commited by masked assailants out for blood.

The Fear Street trilogy is one of the first queer horror films I watched, and I was immediately drawn in by the depiction of a queer relationship in the 90’s between two queer high schoolers who had their own complicated things going on before all of the horror elements. But their relationship takes center stage in the whole plot, with everything our main character did being for the sake of protecting and saving the girl she loved. The plot is wonderful, the characters are likeable and easy to root for, and it has some amazing performances. (Non-Binary actor Ryan Simpkins has one of my favorite performances in the whole trilogy.)

Any Mike Flanagan Netflix show you pick has pretty amazing queer representation as far as the characters and their stories. Whether it be Theo in Haunting of Hill House, Dani and Jamie in Haunting of Bly Manor, Sarah in Midnight Mass, Spence in The Midnight Club, and just so many characters in The Fall of the House of Usher. Not only are queer people featured in his work, but the show he makes are all so artistic and beautiful with the stories they tell. And they can get pretty damn scary. My favorite series out of all of these is The Midnight Club, the core cast of characters is so fleshed out that you grow to care about them all as we go along through the show despite any shortcomings.

I am a huge fan of most horror films, these are just a few examples of some of my favorites that feature queer influences. If anyone knows any other films that I should watch that have good queer representation on and off camera, let me know.