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

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gored in the 70s: horror faves from justin lockwood

The 1970s was a watershed decade for horror: the grim mood and tumultuous events of the time, coupled with an overall burst of director creativity, led to some seminal movies, and horror benefited tremendously.  Here I list my personal favorites.

Black Christmas (1974)

Though it’s fairly well known that this wicked little slasher film predated Halloween and Friday the 13th in laying out the subgenre’s template, Bob Clark’s movie deserves recognition on its own merits.  Before he made A Christmas Story, Clark crafted this darkly comedic, oddly cozy, and gripping tale of a sorority house besieged by ominous phone calls and one of the most insane killers in all of cinema (who’s barely seen, making him all the scarier).  It all sounds hoary and clichéd now, but Black Christmas did it first, and did it tremendously well.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Tobe Hooper’s movie is less gory than its reputation and surprisingly artful for a demented horror flick.  Daniel Pearl’s gorgeous cinematography perfectly captures this wholly original nightmare.  All the sequels and remakes in the world can’t diminish the power of this ghoulishly brilliant masterpiece.

The Omen (1976)

The Exorcist is more esteemed, but this Devil-ish horror flick has always been my favorite.  Gregory Peck and Lee Remick are perfectly overwrought as the unwitting parents of the Anti-Christ, in an ultra-stylized feature that’s cheesily compelling. Jerry Goldsmith’s Oscar winning music and a string of indelible setpieces—the nanny!  The zoo! The decapitation!—cement Richard Donner’s film as a gripping piece of entertainment.

The Sentinel (1977)

Michael Winner’s Rosemary’s Baby knockoff is notorious for using real “freaks” in its finale, and there’s no denying its trashiness and lack of taste.  That doesn’t mean it isn’t damn effective.  A bland Cristina Raines (aka the poor man’s Kate Jackson) is a naïve model with a sordid family history who moves into a spooky Brooklyn brownstone.  There she encounters sinister,  neighbors like Burgess Meredith’s eccentric pet lover and creepy lesbians Gerde (Sylvia Miles) and Sandra (Beverly D’Angelo); “We fondle each other” may be one of my favorite movie lines of all time.  Chris Sarandon is particularly inspired as the sleazy boyfriend who uncovers the building’s Awful Secret.  Nasty, over the top, and full of lurid shocks, The Sentinel deserves to be a cult classic.

Halloween (1978)

This is one of my favorite films of all time; it’s another watershed movie that should stand apart from its impact.  Audiences may find it slow moving or corny today, but John Carpenter’s dirt cheap indie is beautifully shot, perfectly scored, and smartly written to imbue a now archetypal plot (masked maniac stalks babysitters!) with moody pathos and slice of life reality.

Alien (1979)

Ridley Scott’s game changer was the perfect capper to the decade. It ripped a hole through the fun loving spectacle of Star Wars by rendering the technology drab—is there anything more depressing than blue collar space grunts?—and the aliens not the least bit friendly.  H.R. Giger’s freakishly unforgettable designs coupled with the script’s slow burn grimness made this more than a “haunted house movie in space” (as it’s often been called).  It’s one of the few films to successfully combine horror and science fiction and an outstanding example of both.

-Justin Lockwood

some offbeat horror picks by justin lockwood

As a horror fan, I have plenty of love for classics like the original Halloween and Psycho, The Shining and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, etc., etc.  But I’m fond of more offbeat choices as well: the films that might fly under some people’s radar but which I find myself returning to again and again for their style, craftsmanship, and entertainment value.  Herewith, some less heralded scary movies which I highly recommend.

The Sentinel (1977) is an odd little movie, no bones about it.  A glossy rip-off of Rosemary’s Baby, the film focuses on a troubled model (Kate Jackson lookalike Cristina Raines) who moves into a Brooklyn Heights brownstone with a backstory almost as sordid as her own.  The combination of surreal imagery, pseudo-religious hooey, and bad taste (real “freaks” figure in the finale) is arresting and extremely creepy.  Props go to supporting players Chris Sarandon, as the sleazy boyfriend, and the always welcome Burgess Meredith, as one of the eccentric neighbors.  This one will stay with you.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) This oddity from producers John Carpenter and Debra Hill had a lot working against it from the beginning, being a complete departure from the knife-wielding shenanigans of  Halloweens I and II. Rather than bring back Michael Myers, who they’d attempted to kill off in II (he’d be resurrected six years later), the creators spun a whole new story in hopes of creating an annual anthology of Halloween related features. No dice: the movie met with lukewarm box office and scathing reviews, and was almost universally reviled by fans. I didn’t like it the first time I saw it, but on the recommendation of my friend Roman (this is actually his favorite of the series) I gave it another look and was pleasantly surprised by how dark, moody, and entertaining it is. Season of the Witch tells the tale of Dan Challis (Tom Atkins), who witnesses a patient’s bizarre death and tries to uncover the mystery behind it. With the deceased’s daughter Ellie at his side, Challis uncovers an unspeakable plot by the head of Silver Shamrock Novelties, a small-town toy company whose Halloween masks are almost as ubiquitous as their annoying commercials. (“Three more days till Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, three more days till Halloween, Silver Shamrock…”) Robots, gore, and a piece of Stone Henge (!) all come into play as our heroes race to save America’s children from a gruesome fate on All Hallow’s Eve. Because it’s written, filmed, and scored by the same team as the first two films, HIII actually feels a lot more like a Halloween movie than most of the subsequent sequels. It’s also intense and frightening, with a completely nihilistic ending that pays homage (like the rest of the movie) to Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Two decades later, director Tommy Lee Wallace has reason to feel good about his misunderstood creation, which has a cult following and was just reissued on a special edition DVD.

Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987) Another in-name-only sequel shares only a prom setting with the Jamie Lee Curtis Halloween knockoff but nothing else; it’s also much better.  Bruce Pittman’s Canadian production focuses on doe-eyed good girl Vicki, who accidentally unleashes the titular psycho bitch when she opens an old chest, then becomes possessed by her.  Her good-natured boyfriend Craig tries to help, while Craig’s dad (Michael Ironside) struggles with his guilt for his part in Mary’s fiery death (shown in the prologue) thirty years prior.  Off-the-wall, inventive makeup effects and a cheeky script make this movie a campy good time, even if it borrows from Carrie and The Exorcist (“Linda Blairsville!”) in equal measure.

Nightbreed (1990) Clive Barker’s follow-up to his Hellraiser movies was this adaptation of his novella Cabal. Reportedly the studio’s misguided attempt to market it as a slasher flick (which it definitely isn’t) contributed to its box office failure, though it seems to have gained newfound appreciation in the years since. Although it’s dark and frightening, Nightbreed is more of a fantasy than a straight-up horror film, with a clever twist: the monsters are the heroes, and the humans “the bad guys.” When troubled Boone (Craig Sheffer) is framed for a series of murders actually perpetrated by his therapist Decker (David Cronenberg, better known as a director but absolutely frightening here), he flees to Midian, a mythical city he’s heard is a haven for misfits and monsters. His arrival is initially met with opposition, though; the vicious Peloquin takes a bite out of his chest! (Side note: it was at this point that my mother forced my father to leave the theater, an indignity that he’s never let her live down.) Soon, though, the vividly imagined denizens of Midian accept Boone as their own, and he discovers some beastly powers, too. With the help of faithful girlfriend Lori—who seems to subscribe to the philosophy that it doesn’t matter if a man’s a monster, so long as he’s *your* monster—Boone fends off Decker and the police in their attempt to destroy this secret community. With its saga of authorities persecuting what they don’t understand, Nightbreed works as a queer allegory (Barker is himself gay), but however you read it, this is a compelling and highly stylized adventure with unique characters and a lot of heart.

Halloween II (2009) Fans who caught Rob Zombie’s follow-up to his controversial remake are forgiven for writing it off—it was stunning to look at but offered little originality or character development.  The director’s cut, however, is a different story.  Most of the deleted scenes involve Laurie (Scout Taylor-Compton), Michael Myers’ sister and sole survivor of his Halloween massacre.  She fights constantly with her best friend and fellow victim Annie (Danielle Harris) with whom she lives uneasily; she struggles to confide in her therapist (welcome back, Margot Kidder!) while fear and resentment bubble up inside her; and she agonizes over the revelation that she’s related to a mass murderer, a connection that manifests itself in her tortured subconscious.  The Zombie edit amounts to a blood-soaked character study of Laurie and Dr. Loomis (the terrific Malcolm McDowell), who reaches new heights of hucksterism before attempting redemption at the climax.  The ending is far superior, and Zombie’s fourth film is also his most visually accomplished, with his best camera work to date.


-Justin Lockwood

the sentinel (1977)

Part of the glut of Exorcist rip-offs of the 1970s, Michael Winner's The Sentinel is a ridiculous but truly enjoyable horror film based on a pulpy bestseller of its day.

Young fashion model Alison Parker (Cristina Gaines) moves into a furnished, creepy Brooklyn Heights brownstone. She has bizarre run-ins with kooky neighbors including a bumbling Burgess Meredith and two lesbian lovers in leotards. Yet Alison is never formally introduced to the mysterious shut-in priest who gazes out the top floor window. Soon enough, things go bump in the night and Alison starts seeing dead people. Little does she know that her brownstone is actually the gates of hell.



The fashion is top-notch. There are Eyes of Laura Mars-ish photoshoots for our heroine. The all-star cast includes Jose Ferrer, Sylvia Miles and Ava Gardner and Arthur Kennedy (who seem to phone-in performances just to fulfill Universal contracts) and future-stars Jerry Orbach, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Walken and Beverly D'Angelo as one of the lesbians who figures in a surreal masturbation scene. The film is oddly shot with obvious Rosemary Baby cues. But the film never matches the tension or realism of Exorcist or Polanski's film. It's campy fun nevertheless with a climatic, Sam Raimi-esque sequence populated with deformed people (which caused controversy at the time of its release). **1/2

-Jeffery Berg

Please check out Costuminatrix's review of The Sentinel on her blog. I'm not as charming as she is. Photo courtesy of Scared Stiff Reviews.