Queer Horror

A Film Guide

By Molly Henery, Sean Abley, Tyler Doupé

2024

First Published

4.82

Average Rating

493

Number of Pages

14H58M

Audio Length

From the very beginnings of the artform, horror has been part of the cinema landscape. Despite some of the earliest iconic genre films being created by gay directors such as F.W. Murnau (Nosferatu) and James Whale (Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein), LGBTQIA characters have rarely been portrayed in full view. Instead, for decades, filmmakers have included "coded" content in their films with the homosexual experience translated into censor-friendly subtext for consumption by general audiences. Gradually, LGBTQIA characters and themes have moved from the background to the foreground as the horror genre has grown along with its audience's tastes and attitudes. Likewise, more and more LGBTQIA writers and directors have begun to offer their queer-centric takes on scary movies and today, "queer horror" is a thriving film genre unto itself. With more 900 entries, this critical filmography is a comprehensive, critical, yet playful examination of the history of LGBTQIA content in horror film. Eight journalistic contributors dig into every era of scary movies, including the early silents, pre- and post-Hays Code content, grindhouse sleaze, LGBTQIA indies, and megaplex studio releases. From Whale's The Old Dark House (1932) to Don Mancini's Chucky films and everything in between, this collection explores what can be found at the intersection of "LGBTQIA" and "horror" in the film industry.

Avg Rating

4.82

Number of Ratings

5 STARS

82%

4 STARS

18%

3 STARS

2 STARS

1 STARS

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Authors

Molly Henery

Author · 1 book

Molly Henery is a film critic, entertainment writer, and author of both nonfiction and fiction. Molly began writing horror film reviews for her own website, The Blogging Banshee, before eventually branching out and writing for other outlets including Fangoria, Dread Central, Nightmarish Conjurings, and more while earning her Master’s degree in professional creative writing. She is most well-known for her “Uterus Horror” column on Certified Forgotten which examines a different film each month in a subgenre of horror Molly named and defined. Molly has made a name for herself as a horror genre expert which has allowed her to be a guest on numerous podcasts, appear in an upcoming horror documentary, and be a contributing author in Hear Us Scream: The Voices of Horror Volume II as well as Queer Horror: A Film Guide. You can keep up on what Molly is watching and writing about on her website and social media. Website: The Blogging Banshee Twitter: BloggingBanshee Instagram: mollyhenery