Babes, it’s the most wonderful time of the year: Halloween!!! In honor of Witch Season, we’re celebrating horror, cinema’s queerest genre. Horror deals with the concept of “the other,” so it’s possible to have a queer interpretation of almost every horror movie, but we’re not going to list every single horror movie, sweetie. The selected films have LGBTQ+ characters, writers, directors, or just a certain je ne sais queer. To narrow things down, I omitted films that are famously hated by LGBTQ+ communities, or that employ too much of a straight/cis gaze to queer situations.
Some of the films I included stretch the definition of horror, but they’re all spooky enough to fit under the Halloween umbrella. Because “the market” has so intently focused on satiating the heterosexual male gaze, boy-on-boy action is much rarer than the ubiquitous (quasi-)lesbian depictions readily available. Even finding openly gay characters before the 2000s is quite a hunt. Pre-code horror has tons of queer vibes, but the vibes are all kind of bad, which is to be expected in a time when being gay was illegal. Check out the films of openly gay director James Whale if this is your bag. Hat tip to the excellent podcast Bloodhaus, whose queer hosts, Joshua Conkel and Drusilla Adeline, offer thoughtful analysis of art house horror.
Subtly* Lesbian
(*When I say subtle I mean no one is clearly labeled a lesbian, or no actual lesbian sex is shown on screen.)
Cat People (Jacques Tourneur, 1942)
Penned by gay screenwriter DeWitt Bodeen, Cat People is crawling with women who are obsessed with pussy. After a tense encounter with a panther in the Central Park Zoo, a Serbian artist (Simone Simon) who refuses to sleep with her new husband struggles against the cat within clawing its way out seemingly against her will. In this day and age, it’s barely a metaphor.
Daughters of Darkness (Harry Kümel, 1971)
On their honeymoon in Belgium, young newlyweds become ensnared in a beautiful lesbian vampire couple’s trap. With major Marlene Dietrich style inspo, dom top Elizabeth Báthory (Delphine Seyrig) could turn the straightest nail into a corkscrew with naught but a wink. Even though things never get as explicitly lesbian as the film teases, fun little gay chestnuts are scattered broadly in this visually arresting erotic horror.
Suspiria (Dario Argento, 1977)
The lesbianity of this supernatural horror is at a very low simmer, but, when I see a European all-girls school teeming with witches, I know what I’m looking at. An American ballerina (Jessica Harper) arrives at her German residency to find murders around every corner, and she must get to the bottom of an occult conspiracy if she wants to survive. This gorgeously designed film also features a (dubbed) performance by openly gay Warhol darling Udo Kier as an academic witch expert.
Fully Lesbian
The Haunting (Robert Wise, 1963)
A group of strangers gets more than they bargained for when they agree to assist in a study on the paranormal activity in a famous old estate. While sharing a room with fashionable psychic lesbian Theo (Claire Bloom), Eleanor (Julie Harris), a fragile woman grieving the recent death of her mother, experiences the house’s wrath. Even though this film features no lesbian sex, having an out lesbian character was almost unheard of in its time. Haunted house narratives often point to internal psychological maladjustment, and Eleanor seems to be struggling with her own lesbian demons. Snap out of it, Eleanor! You could be living your best gay life!
The Hunger (Tony Scott, 1983)
This movie could easily be in the Bisexual Tops category, but lesbians have identified with this film for so long that I wouldn’t dare. Miriam Blaylock (Catherine Deneuve), an alluring multi-millennia-old vampire, is nearing the end of her relationship with her vampire lover, John Blaylock (David Bowie). It’s unclear why Miriam’s lovers don’t have the same youthful longevity as Miriam, but when John seeks the help of progeria researcher Dr. Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon, whose haircut is serving second semester at Smith College realness), he unwittingly connects Miriam to her newest lover. With billowing sheer drapery flowing through every scene and legitimately steamy lesbian sex scenes, this gorgeous erotic horror drama is a dreamy mediation on aging and the lies people tell at the beginning of a relationship.
Heavenly Creatures (Peter Jackson, 1994)
Based on a true story, this surreal thriller tells the tale of a female-friendship-turned-lesbian-relationship gone haywire. When glamorous Juliet (Kate Winslet) moves to a new town, she quickly befriends dowdy Pauline (Melanie Lynskey) and the two create a wild world of imagination where they’re free to live out their private fantasies. Their parents think the girls are getting too close (if you know what I mean) and try to keep them apart. Consequences will be harsh for all involved.
Jennifer’s Body (Karyn Kusama, 2009)
Hmm. I’m picking up on a theme with these lesbian horror stories. There’s almost always a sad frump and a high fem top. Sad frump Needy (Amanda Seyfried) does exactly as she’s told by her high fem top, I mean best friend, Jennifer (Megan Fox), but a little white lie she tells to a band of rapey dorks leads to Jennifer’s possession by a demon in a Satanic ritual gone wrong. Needy finally gets the kind of attention she’s been seeking from Jennifer, but at what cost?
Saint Maud (Rose Glass, 2019)
A disgraced young healthcare worker can’t seem to put her finger on why she’s so obsessed with her latest patient. The pseudonymous Maud (Morfydd Clark) is prone to fits of religious hallucination as she tries to save the soul of cancer-stricken lesbian dancer Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), who toys with her affections. I won’t spoil the shocking ending, but this beautifully acted, morally complicated film is a must-see.
Gay Misfits
I Married a Monster from Outer Space (Gene Fowler Jr., 1958)
People commonly interpret this movie as a commentary on McCarthyism and the Red Scare, but if you look for queer themes you’ll find them in every frame. The night before a young couple is married, a space alien snatches the groom’s body in a “poof” of smoke, and the bride must solve the mystery of why her husband appears to be a shell of himself. Tom Tyron plays the masquerading husband who must hide in plain sight and who comes from a planet where men don’t love women. Tyron gives an unusually soulful performance for a B movie, which may stem from the fact that he himself was closeted.
Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
This psychological thriller is a layer cake of gay sadness that is enhanced by the biographical facts behind the film. Hitchcock supposedly told a gay actor that if he hadn’t met his wife at the right time, he “could have become a poof.” It can’t be a coincidence that he cast a closeted gay actor to play what has become one of the most famous closeted gay characters in cinematic history. The movie begins with the story of Marion Crane (Janet Lee), a secretary who hides out at a roadside inn after stealing a sizable chunk of cash from her boss’s client. But when she is brutally stabbed in the shower by “Mrs. Bates,” the narrative turns to Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) who covers up the murder on behalf of his elderly mother. I won’t unravel the rest for those who haven’t seen it, but what follows is a twisted look into the guilt, shame, and blame between mothers and gay sons.
Phantom of the Paradise (Brian De Palma, 1974)
This is one of the wildest movies on the list as well as one of my faves; it’s Faust meets Phantom of the Opera meets The Rocky Horror Picture Show meets Network. Winslow Leach (William Finley) is a soulful but nerdy songwriter looking for his big break. Enter Swan (Paul Williams, who also wrote the film’s exquisite music), a hot music producer who steals Leach’s songs for the opening of his club, the Paradise. At the auditions, Leach meets his perfect muse in Phoenix (Jessica Harper), a beautiful and uniquely gifted singer, but Swan kicks him out and frames him for dealing drugs. After escaping from prison and becoming horribly disfigured in a record press accident, Leach takes to wearing a mask and a cape and terrorizing the Paradise as Swan searches for the perfect sound to kick off a new era of music. Swan finally vows to present Leach’s music as he wishes, but after Leach signs a lengthy contract in blood, Swan breaks his promise and gives Leach’s music to Beef (Gerrit Graham), a glorious queer-coded weirdo who deserves better than what fate offers him in this film. This gritty, stylish takedown of the music industry depicts the American obsession for fame at all costs, and predicts today’s voyeuristic obsession with reality television.
Interview with the Vampire (Neil Jordan, 1994)
Louis (Brad Pitt), a 200-year-old vampire, tells a saga of immortal gay woe to an ill-fated reporter (Christian Slater). After being turned (get it?) by the vampire Lestat (Tom Cruise), Louis has trouble settling into his new lifestyle of constant anonymous, highly sexualized murder, so Lestat turns a young child (Kirsten Dunst) to keep Louis’ affection. Lestat’s unpredictable cruelty leads Louis and Claudia to dispose of Lestat, and the two flee to Europe in a vain search for a better life. The gay 90s are in full tilt even though queerness is never explicitly stated. For an even gayer experience, watch the AMC series of the same name.
Bisexual Tops
Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931)
If drinking blood is a metaphor for sex, Bela Lugosi’s Dracula is throwing it around to all the genders, honey. Based on the book of the same name by Bram Stoker, who is rumored to be gay, this pre-code monster movie tells the classic tale of the blood-sucking man-bat who terrorizes a quiet Transylvanian town. His victims seem to be sexually activated by Count Dracula, especially Renfield (played with an over-the-top gay zest by another rumored homosexual, Dwight Frye). Definitely more spooky than scary.
Labyrinth (Jim Henson, 1986)
Bisexual rock god David Bowie donned a pair of tight-ass pants, and that notorious bulge spoke in a language new to little boys and girls alike. Awaken, sexuality! Sarah (Jennifer Connolly) is a teenage actress who’s sick and tired of babysitting her baby brother—until he’s kidnapped by the Goblin King. A fun and weirdly gross chase through a fantastic world of Henson puppets ensues.
Vamp (Richard Wenk, 1986)
When a pair of college boneheads attempts to hire a stripper for a frat party, the strip joint they scout turns out to be a vampire lair. Though the film solely depicts hetero sex, a queer gem is lodged within. Genderfuck icon Grace Jones, adorned in body paint by celebrated gay artist Keith Haring, delivers a stunning, thought-provoking burlesque performance (to her own music, of course). This film is a truly wild mix of highbrow/lowbrow.
Trans Tingles
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, 1975)
This is the greatest queer Halloween movie of all time. Period. In this science fiction horror musical, alien scientist Dr. Frank N. Furter (Tim Curry) from the Planet Transexual amasses a following of misfit earthlings (including notorious bisexual Susan Sarandon) where everyone is encouraged to live out their horny dreams. Do yourself a favor and see it live if you possibly can, where a shadow cast performs in front of the movie screen and audience members are invited to shout out quips, dance in the aisles, and provide extended prop comedy to an evening of live/canned chaos.
Eyes of Laura Mars (Irvin Kershner, 1978)
Set in the unmistakably gay world of the New York art scene, a female photographer (Faye Dunaway) can see through the eyes of a male serial killer as he systematically murders her collaborators in a mission to rid the world of sexually graphic content. I don’t know about the rest of her, but Laura Mars’s eyes are definitely trans. Not only can she see with a man’s eyes during his killing spree, her photographs feel as though they were conceived through the eyes of a man. Because they were. Helmut Lang is responsible for the photos that are attributed to the titular character.
Sleep Away Camp (Robert Hiltzik, 1983)
I know, I know. But this movie is very meaningful to a certain sector of people who grew up with scant onscreen gay and trans representation, and the ending was very shocking in a time when the average person would not have clocked the villain. After her brother and openly gay father are killed in an implausible boating accident, a traumatized girl is sent to summer camp by her eccentric aunt where a killer violently puts antagonistic campers and staff to sleep forever. A must-see for those who love tasteless slashers.
Titane (Julia Ducournau, 2021)
This surreal French body horror is absolutely drenched in gender fluid. After a horific childhood car accident, Alexia (Agathe Rousselle) is fitted for a titanium plate in her head and develops an unhealthy obsession with cars. Fast-forward to her adult life as a showgirl at an auto show where she brutally murders an assailant, fucks a car, becomes pregnant with the car’s baby, and assumes the identity of a missing boy while on the run from the law. And then it gets so much weirder.
For Twinks Who Want to Converse with the Over-40 Set
The Bad Seed (Mervyn LeRoy, 1956)
The indelible image of this tiny terror in blond pigtails is forever emblazoned on the gay imagination. Eight-year-old Rhoda is the picture of girlhood perfection. When her classmate drowns in a nearby lake, Rhoda’s traumatic personal history soon calls her innocent façade into question. All hell breaks loose after Rhoda’s true nature is discovered.
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (Robert Aldrich, 1962)
More thriller than horror, but definitely Halloween fare and essential gay viewing. Former child star Baby Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) refuses to accept adulthood and locks up her invalid sister (Joan Crawford) in a dramatic tale of sibling rivalry that complicates the good sister/bad sister narrative.
Beetlejuice (Tim Burton, 1988)
A recently deceased couple (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) hires a perverted demon (Michael Keaton) to expel the living family (Catherine O’Hara, Winona Ryder, and sex offender Jeffrey Jones) who bought their home. I almost omitted this film due to its aggressive heterosexuality, but Delia Deetz is a cultural touchstone, and her tender friendship with Otho (Glenn Shadix), her (wink wink) decorator-cum-occultist, will be familiar to the fruits and flies among us.
Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (James Signorelli, 1988)
If a movie had the power to turn little boys gay, this supernatural rags-to-riches horror comedy might be the one. Every 40ish gay man I know has loved this movie since childhood. Elvira (created by beloved lesbian Cassandra Peterson), a gothic weirdo who gamely triumphs in a world of boring normals, inherits a dubious windfall that she hopes will finance her dream of a Las Vegas show.
Queer Filth
Do not watch these movies if you are even remotely sensitive. Watch these films immediately if you love to be shocked and horrified. I’m calling these films horror, but they’re too weird to be neatly categorized. Both films come for Catholicism (yes, that is a double entendre), and both have violent depictions of rape.
Multiple Maniacs (John Waters, 1970)
Self-described filth elder and my favorite gay director, John Waters, leads a ragtag cast of queer icons such as Divine, Cookie Mueller, and Mink Stole (I actually don’t know if she’s queer, but she’s a fixture of the queer cannon) in a convoluted, sexually violent romp where perverted freak show star Lady Divine goes on a killing spree and fucks her way to the bottom. Just about every taboo you can image is featured in this film.
The Devils (Ken Russell, 1971)
This is one of the most disturbing films I have ever seen, right up there with Pink Flamingos, which is to say I loved it. Unlike the early John Waters oeuvre, The Devils boasts a huge budget with spectacular sets and gorgeously shot crowd scenes. Based on a true story, The Devils centers around a 17th century Italian nun (Vanessa Redgrave) who claims to have been possessed by the town’s hottest, horniest priest (Oliver Reed). Come for the graphic nun orgy, stay for the anti-corruption political message.
Well, ghouls and goblins, that should be enough to keep you going all the way through Samhain. Let us know what queer horror you’re watching, especially if you found some good creepy crawlers for the boys who like boys. Go forth and be spooky!
