The 23 Gaiest Horror Movies Ever Made
Just a few years ago, the selection of horror films with overtly weird characters and themes was extremely sparse: many great films had subtext (some of which we’ll return to), but very few of them turned that subtext into text. This is despite the fact that horror movies have legions of gay fans (seriously, the biggest horror movie fans I know aren’t straight, including me). The recent rise in horror films with queer characters isn’t just a matter of diversity; it’s about giving the audience what they want. Some of these films incorporate decidedly queer coming-of-age stories (or metaphors) into their narratives, while others offer LGBTQ leads without any fanfare, NBD. There is also “heightened” horror, as well as films about serial killers and slashers.
And hey, since we’re not looking for isolation, straight people can scream together. No one will judge your lifestyle when there is a killer hanging around.
Knife + Heart (2018)
There are several layers to director Ian Gonzalez’s stylish, stylish slasher film set in the world of ’70s gay porn. Anne Parese (Vanessa Paradis) runs a production company that makes exploitation films centered on Knife + Heart , but a series of murders occurring on the set barely attracts the attention of the local police, who aren’t too upset about the deaths of gay porn actors. Anne decides that her next film will be about the murders themselves, turning the film into a film that only attracts the attention of the killer (and his spiked dildo). The film celebrates giallo , with plenty of deep cuts for fans of classic Italian horror and ’70s sleaze in general, but with a completely unique look.
Where to shout: Shudder, Tubi, Kanopy, Freevy.
Knock on the Hut (2023)
M. Night Shyamalan’s latest novel presents married couple Eric and Andrew (Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge) with an impossible choice: one of them will have to sacrifice the other or the world could end. What appears to be a Dave Bautista-led home invasion is becoming an increasingly compelling warning of the need for sacrifice. The film’s growing sense of existential dread is heightened by the sense of cozy home life of the couple at the film’s center, who just want to raise their daughter and relax in their cute little cabin.
Where to shout: Prime Video
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
I’ve seen Rocky Horror Pictures at least a dozen times (in various states of undress), but I still can’t quite put my finger on what it’s about – something to do with Brad and Janet (Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon) staying in a creepy place. an old house full of weirdos (led by Tim Curry’s Dr. Frank-N-Furter) from outer space. The film has gone from a cult classic to a rite of passage for young gay men, full of joyfully quirky characters who either start out as gender-fluid or become so by the end. It uses a lot of old horror movie tropes, and while it may not be the scariest movie in the history of queer cinema, it’s a ton of fun and a pretty good way to give the scare of your life.
Where to Shout: Hulu
Beat (2019)
Nicole Maines (“ Supergirl ”) plays Laurel, a trans teen who moves in with her brother in Los Angeles after her transition. A party at the club leads to lots of kissing and then blood—Laurel is soon offered the opportunity to join a group of vampires tasked with caring for the many male predators walking the city’s streets.
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The weird coda in the creepy and often hilarious “Bride of Frankenstein” is so over-the-top that it can barely even be called subtext. There’s too much gay stuff going on here to ignore. The plot revolves around the superbly flamboyant Dr. Septimus Praetorius (Ernest Thesiger), Victor Frankenstein’s mentor since his school days, who breaks in on the eve of Victor’s wedding night to drag him away (requiring only a little convincing) so they can conduct some experiments to see if they can live together. With a plot like this and a queer cast in front of and behind the camera (including Thesinger and director James Whale), it’s very much a gay horror fever dream.
Where to shout: Peacock
Stranger by the Lake (2013)
A horror film with echoes of the sexy thrillers of yore. Here Pierre Deladonchamps plays Franck, a regular visitor to the nudist beach and surrounding forests – popular destinations for cruises. Frank begins a passionate relationship (meaning: a lot of pretty explicit sex in the woods) with Michel (Christophe Pauw), who Frank later spots drowning someone in a lake. What: awkward. As the investigation into the event heats up, Frank is forced to give up a good cause, even in the face of murder. Like any good erotic thriller, the better the sex, the more risks Frank will take.
Where to shout: Canopic pots
High Voltage (2003)
Arguably the best film in the New French Extremity canon, High Voltage does the seemingly impossible: it’s a slasher film that doesn’t feel cliché, is violent, tense, uncompromising, and filled with references to 1970s horror classics. — and it’s in French, so you can pretend it’s sublime. The film has a mega-twist ending that is a complex (to say the least) rather progressive take on its lesbian protagonist, but complex, troubled characters are nothing new for fans of queer horror.
Where to Shout: Prime Video, Tubi, The Roku Channel, Hoopla, Kanopy, Freevee, Plex, Pluto
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)
Many queer horrors involve the challenges of not being straight; but Bodies Bodies Bodies is led by an odd couple, front and center: Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) and Bea (Maria Bakalova) – a perfectly normal couple who find themselves in the middle of a rather wacky situation when Sophia brings her girlfriend home to meet up with her old friend . The murder-in-the-dark game takes a turn when someone actually ends up dead, and it quickly starts to seem like Sophie and Bea are the most level-headed people in the whole group.
Where to Shout: Paramount+ , Fubo, Showtime
Jessica’s Cabin (2022)
Okay, it’s not scary—and it really isn’t—but Jessica’s Cabin is a lively, slightly sad, but mostly charming ghost story that’s perfect if you’re looking for something horror-adjacent, but Don’t be terrified. mood for blood. Couple Nicky (Chase Williamson) and Preston (Will Tranfo) come up with the name Airbnb – which we eventually learn was named after one of the people who was found dead there – and it quickly becomes clear that their relationship is far away not ideal. They are also watched by best friends Jackson (Daniel Montgomery) and Taylor (Riley Rose Crichlow), two ghosts who haunt the cabin, living an afterlife of endless boredom and monotony – at least until the dead Jackson falls in love with the living. Niki. It’s a wonderful low-budget tale of love and longing, like most of the best ghost stories.
Where to Shout: Hoopla
Spiral (2019)
Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman plays Malik, who moves to a new town with his white partner Aaron and teenage daughter, each hoping for a little peace and quiet. Naturally, things get weird—first in recognizable ways (cutting comments, unreturned greetings) and then in more disturbing ways. Malik, both more assertive and Black, seems to be the only one who truly sees the worst and begins to question both his relationship with his family and his sanity.
Where to shout: Wince
Rope (1948)
Fussy and picky roommates (if you know what I mean) are throwing a dinner party for friends, but there’s a twist: they’ve just strangled an old high school buddy to death and plan to serve the food out of a gorgeous antique. wooden chest in which his body was hidden. Like the worst high-society gays you’ll ever meet, Brandon and Phillip (John Dall and Farley Granger) are just doing it to prove their intellectual superiority. Filmed in one take (well, sort of), Hitchcock’s claustrophobic atmosphere and sharp dialogue add to the tension nicely; The thriller was based on a real-life murder committed by lovers Leopold and Loeb in the 1920s.
Where to shout: Digital rental
Scream (2022)
Taking on an important role as a seasoned member of pop culture’s “Core Four,” Jasmine Savoy Brown joins the Scream remake as Mindy Meeks-Martin, the one who may not know who the killer is but definitely understands the rules, according to which they act. you play. She is also openly gay, adding the first canonically queer character to the series, which began with a pair of assassins based on lovers Leopold and Loeb. With a sense of humor and brutal kills, the fifth Scream film rebooted a franchise whose quirky fans are legion, setting the stage for an even better sequel.
Where to shout: Paramount+
Jennifer’s Body (2009)
Only the real ones knew what to do with Jennifer’s Body in 2009, and it took the film a long time to become the cult classic it was probably always destined to be. Here, popular teen Jennifer (Megan Fox) is turned into a succubus by cruel men who gleefully murder boys at school, to the universal horror of her friend Needy (Amanda Seyfried). The film’s main characters are not overtly gay, but there is a joyful rejection of both toxic masculinity and heteronormativity that has made it a particular favorite among gay men. He also uses horror and violence to empower his female teenage characters.
Where to shout: Max
ParaNorman (2012)
The stop-motion animated film ParaNorman was deservedly critically acclaimed (it’s fantastic), but was only a modest box office success. The plot revolves around the titular Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee), who can communicate with the dead; No one believes him and he is bullied for his claims of his abilities. Norman’s best friend’s older brother Mitch (Casey Affleck) is in many ways the stereotypical goofy jock, but we discover that he is gay at the same time as Norman’s sister. Unlike Norman, who struggles to express his abilities in a hostile world, Mitch is completely content with who he is. Sure, it’s an all-ages horror movie, but the film is surprisingly smart and delightfully creepy.
Where to shout: Tubi, Starz, Pluto
Fear Street trilogy (2021)
We’re doing three films here because each film in the trilogy, adapted from R.L. Stine’s books, shares a common tone, quality and director (Lee Janiak, best known for Honeymoon to Fear Street). They also share the same main characters: Dina and Sam (Kiana Madeira and Olivia Scott Welch), star-crossed friends battling an ancient curse across time. “Street of Fear. Part One: 1994 begins the film by introducing the town of Shadyside, which local kids call “Shithole” and has a dark history of numerous murders, most of which were covered up. A group of teenagers destroy a witch’s grave, sparking the rebirth of a murderous cult. The atmosphere here is a bit reminiscent of Stranger Things , with some real gore and scares (it’s YA, but definitely not kid stuff) as Janiak pays homage to a wide range of horror films past. The series continues with Fear Street Part Two: 1978 and concludes with Fear Street Part Three: 1666 .
Where to shout: Netflix
Suddenly Last Summer (1959)
If it’s a stretch to consider this film, based on a Tennessee Williams play, a horror film, consider that the entire plot revolves around revelations of cannibalism and threats of forced lobotomy. It’s a crazy Southern Gothic mystery involving a young man, the son of Katharine Hepburn’s famous Violet Venable, who dies under mysterious circumstances while on vacation in Spain. While Violet was happy to be his partner, helping him meet other men for sexual encounters, she was less interested in letting the world know exactly how he died. She’s also perfectly happy to lobotomize one of her son’s best friends just to make sure she doesn’t talk; it’s a wild time, right up to the unforgettable ending.
Where to shout: Digital rental
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)
The subtext here is so strong that it hardly even counts as subtext, but back in 1985, plenty of heterosexual viewers were still oblivious to it. The film’s core premise involves a role reversal that puts Jesse (Mark Patton) in the position that would be occupied by the “final girl” in most slasher films of the era. Freddie plays with Jesse, at one point caressing his lips with his fingertips; Jesse is running away from danger, while his girlfriend is in the same predicament and is almost always scantily clad. He runs into his gym teacher at a leather bar, and the same jerk is later beaten to death in the locker room. As a metaphor for the torment of a withdrawn teenager, it could have been much worse.
Where to shout: Max
Perfection (2018)
There are shades of Suspiria (and Black Swan ) here as Charlotte Willmore (Allison Williams) returns to her prestigious music academy after an absence to find that another woman (Logan Browning) has taken her place at the head of the class, with the two beginning a sexual relationship – if this sounds a little boring, the deliberately disjointed narrative quickly devolving into wild, claustrophobic body horror. It may not be the first film to take its artistic education to dark thrills and gore, but it goes as far as any of them and even goes beyond them.
Where to shout: Netflix
Hidden Image (2022)
Making the most of its budget, Hidden Image is one of those slasher films about an isolated cabin in the woods, but with a few clever and surreal twists. Ben (Joshua Tonks), a writer in the throes of writer’s block and separated from his boyfriend, is visited by a stranger who might just need a place to stay (Jay Clift)? Ben’s active imagination blurs the lines between what is real and what isn’t, as well as the possibly sexy and perhaps murderous chemistry between the two main characters.
Where to shout: Digital rental
Diabolic (1955)
“Diabolik” involves a married woman and her husband’s mistress who conspire to kill a man and cover up his death—the sexual tension and sense of a love triangle barely lurks beneath the surface. He was the headmaster of a boarding school filled with gossip, and they both have to keep the situation under wraps thanks to a delightfully twisted plot. Simone Signoret and Vera Clouzot play one of the most enduring couples in cinema, although their more explicit relationship in the original novel was omitted from the film version. However, the closeness between Nicole and Christina is noted by the students and teachers of the boarding school where they live. They travel together, share rooms and even a bed. The climax plays out much like a breakup scene. The film’s gritty realism inspired Hitchcock’s Psycho .
Where to Shout: Max, The Criterion Channel
They/Them (2022)
It’s perhaps a little duller than its revealing title (pronounced “They Cut ‘Em Up”) suggests, but that’s only because of its commitment to treating its oddball characters with respect. However, that doesn’t mean it’s all sunshine and flowers at the conversion camp (led by Kevin Bacon’s rather unpleasant Owen Whistler), where a serial killer stalks the woods, likely seeking bloody revenge.
Where to shout: Peacock
What Keeps You Alive (2018)
It all starts when a young married couple, Jackie (Hannah Emily Anderson) and Jules (Brittany Allen), go to a remote cabin owned by Jackie’s family. All seems well until she is called “Megan” as a child. Jules becomes suspicious, and with good reason, and gradually comes to realize that her wife may not be who she says she is and may not have her best interests at heart. This premise is frighteningly realized.
Where to shout: Tubi
Pitchfork (2016)
Listen: gays deserve silly little slashers too, and this stylish one is head and shoulders (ahem) above. What starts out as a coming-of-age story about Hunter returning home to come out to his conservative father gets bloody pretty quickly as the titular killer stalks Hunter and his fellow friends into the woods.
Where to shout: Tubi, Voodoo