8 queer characters in horror: a list by justin lockwood

October is Gay History Month in addition to being the lead-up to Halloween, so it’s the perfect time to spotlight some of the LGBT characters that have found their way into horror film and television.  I rank my picks in order from least to most positive—an order that roughly follows the films’ chronology.  The times, they are a-changin’!

Gerde and Sandra (Sylvia Miles and Beverly D’Angelo), The Sentinel (1977)—Michael Winner’s gloss on Rosemary’s Baby is a lot of things, but politically correct is not one of them.  This pair isn’t just weird and off-putting—they wear ballet suits for some reason, and D’Angelo pleasures herself while lead Cristina Raines squirms in her chair—they’re actually demons.  But by the time Miles is seen feasting on brains, homophobia is the least of the movie’s crimes—it uses real deformed people to portray the other denizens of hell.  Incidentally, Miles gets one of the best lines when Raines asks her what she and her companion do: “We fondle each other.”

ChadPat (Zachary Quinto and Teddy Sears), "American Horror Story" (2011)—Sparring gay lovers Chad and Pat are a step above The Sentinel’s ghastly lesbians, but only just.  True, the interior designers are suave and good-looking, but their relationship is a dysfunctional mess, and they fulfill numerous negative gay stereotypes, from Pat’s sex addiction to Chad’s superficial preoccupation with appearances; Chad covets Vivian (Connie Britton)’s twins, but plans to smother them with “a hypoallergenic pillow so they’ll always be cute.”  Considering that nearly everyone on the first season of AHS is both deeply flawed and guilty of some heinous act or another, though, ChadPat barely qualify as the worst of the bunch.

Miriam and Sarah (Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon), The Hunger (1983)—In my sophomore year of college I had the distinct pleasure of watching this movie with a group of lesbians who’d never seen it before.  They didn’t know quite what to make of this ultra-stylized movie about an ageless vampire (Deneuve) who ditches her latest male companion (David Bowie) for Sarandon’s comely Sarah.  In true 80s fashion, the movie casts lesbianism through a veil of trendy bisexuality (Sarandon’s dating a man when we first meet her), fluttering curtains, and gratuitous slow mo photography (uh-oh, Sarah spilled wine on her blouse!).  It gets a split vote in terms of how it portrays its queer characters; Deneuve is a true villainess, but Sarandon’s character manages to come out on top.  Side note: the lead actress later sued lesbian magazine Deneuve for illegally using her name, forcing them to re-christen themselves as Curve.

Victor Pascow (Brad Greenquist), Pet Sematary (1989)—Pascow is a truly original creation, a horrible disfigured apparition who nonetheless tries to help Dr. Louis Creed (bland but hunky Dale Midkiff) and his family avoid certain doom.  After the good doctor fails to save the accident victim, he appears in the same sweater and red short shorts he died in to caution Creed against using the Micmac burial ground.  His eccentric, fey delivery makes Pascow, in Greenquist’s own words, “a good fairy.”  You can say that again!

David (Gordon Michael Woolvett), Bride of Chucky (1998)—Queer Child’s Play creator Don Mancini really let his camp flag fly with this spoofy sequel that features Woolvett as a good-looking, likable homo who helps star crossed lovers Jade (a before she was famous Katherine Heigl) and Jesse (gorgeous Nick Stabile).  We’re obviously supposed to like David, which makes his shocking death pretty excusable—this is a horror movie, after all.  Besides, what self-respecting gay man would spurn a movie that features Stabile in an utterly gratuitous car washing scene?


-Justin Lockwood

twitter: @HeyLockwood
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think about the children by karen g.

By now you’re all aware of my undying respect for horror films.  Good or bad, campy or visually mind-blowing, I am a dedicated lover of all things that make my heart race and my skin crawl.  I realized, however, in my travels around global video stores (NOTE: People born after 1994, a video store was a place where rectangular black boxes held treasures of the movie kind.  I realize you may never get the joke of “Be Kind Rewind” so I am not going to use it in any sort of metaphor or whimsy in this article) that nothing really terrifies me more than movies or stories about children with a hellish purpose.  Below are some of the children who scared the bejeezus out of me, as a child, and as an adult.

“Gage” – Pet Sematary (1989)

This adorable rugrat got flattened by a MAC truck and came back for revenge with a scalpel.  If that doesn’t scare the hell out of you, nothing will.

“The Twins”/”The Grady Girls” – The Shining (1980)

Girls on Film?  These two will forever linger in my mind, whenever I do my Manolo Blahnik stomp down the sweeping hallways of any Courtyard Marriott.

“Every child in sight!” – The Village of the Damned (1960)

I always enjoyed John Wyndham’s Sci Fi books, and have discussed, over the years, that the 1960 version of “Village of the Damned” was one of the more accurate adaptations of a novel in recent history.  This story has a special place in my heart because it encompasses two genres that I enjoy best – Science Fiction and Horror.  If only Bonnie Tyler was available to do the soundtrack “Turn around bright eyes…”



“Damien” – The Omen (1976)

When Father Brennan spoke of Damien he said: “He's killed once, he'll kill again. He'll kill until everything that's yours is his.”  Those chilling words still come to me at times when I think of this unsettling film.  Harvey Stephens as Damien played the role perfectly, very few words but powerful acting as the “innocent young boy” who just happened to be the Antichrist 

“Reagan” – The Exorcist (1973)

I spoke with a friend recently about movies that felt “haunted”.  This is definitely one of them (as it certainly makes EVERY horror list out there).  I watch this movie from time to time and have grown to realize that the scenes where Reagan is without makeup are even more terrifying than her scenes in the famous demon make-up.  The downward spiral of her evolving into something evil is psychologically disturbing.   Another vivid portrayal of innocence lost.

“Esther” – Orphan (2009)

Tagline “There’s something wrong with Esther”.  How could you not watch this movie with a tagline like this?  Isabelle Fuhrman played a heavy and dark role as the adopted daughter to a nice, neat American family.  Campy at times, this movie did leave me with a chill in my spine and I definitely thought it was a more original story for all the rehashed horror we see nowadays.

“Samara” – The Ring (2002)
Looking back at my list, I realize many of my children of horror are girls.  And men wonder why they cannot figure us out.  There is something sinister in all of us I guess.  The proof is in what Hollywood churns out in “what to be afraid of” (pissed off females).

The Orphanage (2007)

The title alone "had me at hello."  This Spanish film had some of the most creative and suspenseful cinematography I’d seen in a horror in some time.  The type of “edge of your seat” shots that you just enjoy more when you’re in the mood for something scary.  What would you do if your child suddenly started communicating with an invisible “friend?”

“Kyra” – The Sixth Sense (1999)
Just when you thought it was safe to look under your bed.

“Eli” – Let the Right One In (2008)

We could all use a friend like Eli.  I really enjoyed this movie.  I found it moving despite the disturbing premise.  This is a truly original story about love and friendship against all odds, neatly wrapped in a bloody, little package.

-Karen G.