This October many LGBTQ+ horror fans will be sitting down to search for a new scary movie to spook them this holiday season. Though it may be hard to find, here are 5 inclusive horror films to make your streaming a little less stressful and keep you scared all month.
- Freaky
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Kathryn Newton stars in the horror comedy as a normal high school girl who switched bodies with a serial killer, played by Vince Vaughn. The 6’1 convict turned teenaged girl, along with Newton’s best friends, must figure out how to get her back into her own body. This movie showcased the skills of both the previously seen comedians and the new actors featured. One of the best friends of Newton’s character is a gay teenage boy named Josh (played by Misha Osherovich) who serves as a funny best friend. I think Osherovich managed to focus his comedy more on other issues than having the punchline be that he is a part of the queer community. Though this movie had its faults, it does get a point for not killing its only gay character.
- Bodies Bodies Bodies
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Bodies Bodies Bodies stars Amandla Stanberg as Sophie, an affluent young woman, who is arriving at the mansion of her supposed best friend for a hurricane party with her new girlfriend Bee, played by Maria Bakalova. Once they arrive it becomes very clear that these best friends (and significant others with trust issues) aren’t afraid to stab each other in the back. This film is helping to show that horror is for everyone, by being more inclusive of queer and BIPOC characters and actors as well as focusing heavily on having a mainly Gen Z cast. Stanberg’s performance was amazing and felt even better knowing she was a queer woman of color portraying one on screen. Throughout this mirage of carnage, Gen Z slang, and cute clothes, you will find yourself just as confused, hurt, and hopeful as these characters felt.
- Rope
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For those of us who are fans of more classic cinema but would still like to be able to see representation, Alfred Hitchcock’s, Rope can do just that. This film was loosely based on the infamous Leopold and Loeb murders that took the country by storm in the 1920s. James Stewart and John Dall play the duo of college students who invite friends and family over for a dinner party where they believe they can commit the perfect crime and hide it right under everyone’s nose. Hitchcock is an outstanding director and the performances by Stewart and Dall make their relationship palpably ambiguously homoerotic. During times in which film and television could not have gay characters outright, Cadell and Shaw’s complicated chemistry, seen through their power dynamic, was some of the best representation one could find. Though this movie may not have any explicit gay storylines, the film shows the early portrayal of homosexuals in film in a truly dazzling psychological thriller.
- The Craft Legacy
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When Halloween comes, so do the droves of comfort movies we’ve seen since childhood. If you’re looking to get a taste of something new but still feel nostalgic for the classics when eating your Halloween candy, you should try watching The Craft Legacy. The film stars Cailee Spaeny as Lily, Zoey Luna as Lourdes, Gideon Adlon as Frankie, and Lovie Simone as Tabby. When Lily moves to a new town and befriends a group of three witches who were in need of a fourth member, they begin to discover their new powers together but soon realize they shouldn’t always get what they wish for. This revamped version of the cult classic horror chick flick, The Craft, now has more queer characters and issues. Lourdes is played by a transgender actress. A classmate named Timmy, a bisexual male character (played by Nicholas Galitzine) comes to terms with his sexuality due to the group’s support. Galitzine delivers a heart-wrenching and relatable performance for those of us who had a hard time accepting our sexuality, though the film may have had the much quicker resolution to this problem many of us wished for. Overall this sequel manages to keep remnants of the original film while creating its own fluid storyline without force.
- Let the Right oNE iN
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Let the Right One In, stars Kare Hedebrant as a young boy who is constantly being bullied by his classmates and learns through his new friendship with Eli, a perpetually 12-year-old child, (played by Lina Leandersen) to fight back while forming a bond of their own. Eli is a character who, due to their vampiric ways, has no gender. Throughout the film the topic comes and goes with little interference in the plot as a whole. This Swedish vampire film shows the story of first love and loss for many queer children, especially nonbinary, who were never able to see themselves on screen before. Leandersen and Hedebrant give stellar performances despite being such young actors and the movie is visually stunning. This film envelops you in a world in which love knows no bounds, especially when experienced by a 12 year old boy in Sweden.