Queerness and horror have gone together literally since the genre’s inception. Despite this, queerness hasn’t always been represented well in modern horror. This year, however, several films with queer characters and themes central to their plots bucked that unfortunate trend and made horror the place to be for queers on screen.
From slasher killers to psychosomatic nightmares and even a reboot of a true queer horror classic, here’s this year’s best in spooky cinematic viewing.
Bodies Bodies Bodies
A group of wealthy friends sequesters in a mansion for a hurricane party. But when a party game turns lethal, no one is safe. Not only does this film feature out actors Amandla Stenberg and Lee Pace, but at the center of this whodunit quasi-slasher is a queer love story between Stenberg’s character Sophie and Maria Bakalova’s Bee. And that opening kiss? Forget about it.
Hellraiser (2022)
Clive Barker’s classic Hellraiser gets a modern makeover in this David Bruckner-directed reimagining. The film also stars Jamie Clayton as the iconic Pinhead, while queer characters and storylines are central to the film’s plot. Plus, it introduces audiences to Adam, our first final gay! It’s gruesome, gorgeous, and unapologetically queer.
Hypochondriac
In Hypochondriac, a young gay man’s life is turned upside down when his estranged and dangerous mother re-enters his life. Soon his body begins to betray him as doctors brush off his concerns, and he’s being stalked by a mysterious wolf-like creature who may or may not just be in his head. This heartbreaking and terrifying film is based partially on the real-life experiences of its queer writer and director, Addison Heimann.
We’re All Going To The World’s Fair
Trans writer and director Jane Schoenbrun explores the experience of gender dysphoria through the creeping dread of this contemplative horror film. The plot focuses on a young girl named Casey who spends her time alone in her bedroom becoming increasingly immersed in an online roleplaying game purported to permanently alter its players. Strangers on the internet follow her journey, and one in particular takes too close of an interest in Casey.
Bones and All
Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet star in a cannibal love story from director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name). The two seemingly sexually fluid young adults find love on the fringes of society in Regan-era America. Bones and All is powerful, poignant, and gut-punch with plenty of guts on display.
Scream (2022)
Stop motion animation icon Henry Selick and modern master of horror Jordan Peele collaborated on this visually stunning, queer-inclusive, and family-friendly horror jaunt. After surviving a tragic near-death experience as a child, 13-year-old Kat Elliot (Lyric Ross) acquires a very special ability: she can commune with the dead and even pull demons out of hell and back to the mortal plane. Two scheming demon brothers, Wendell and Wild (Keegan-Michael Key and Peele, respectively), capitalize on that and all hell breaks loose, literally. Thankfully, Kat has the help of her kind and clever trans friend Raul (voiced by trans actor Sam Zelaya) to help her attempt to put the world right again.
Wendell & Wild
Stop motion animation icon Henry Selick and modern master of horror Jordan Peele collaborated on this visually stunning, queer-inclusive, and family-friendly horror jaunt. After surviving a tragic near-death experience as a child, 13-year-old Kat Elliot (Lyric Ross) acquires a very special ability: she can commune with the dead and even pull demons out of hell and back to the mortal plane. Two scheming demon brothers, Wendell and Wild (Keegan-Michael Key and Peele, respectively), capitalize on that and all hell breaks loose, literally. Thankfully, Kat has the help of her kind and clever trans friend Raul (voiced by trans actor Sam Zelaya) to help her attempt to put the world right again.
Sissy
Many films have queer characters, but few can nail the world that queer individuals inhabit when they’re with their friends and loved ones. Sissy does just that. This makes it all the more disturbing, then, when that world is disrupted by violence. The film follows Cecilia, a wellness influencer who tags along on a long-lost friend’s (queer) bachelorette weekend. The only problem is one of the guests is not so happy to see her and wants revenge.
So Vam
Written and directed by trans-wunderkind Alice Maio Mackay, So Vam follows the misadventures of Kurt, a young teen with dreams of drag greatness. After Kurt becomes the victim of an older vampire, he is recruited into a gang of radical vamps who feed on the bigots and abusers who prey on queer people. It’s camp, it’s stylish, and it’s proof that Mackay is a talented queer filmmaker who’s just getting started.
