DREAD X: DEATHCEMBER’s Michael Varrati Top 10 Queer Horror Films
June is Pride Month, a month dedicated to the history, recognition, and appreciation of the queer community and all the incredible things they have brought to this world. And we here at Dread Central are proud to add to the conversation and joy by inviting screenwriter and actor Michael Varrati to create a Dread X column celebrating his Top 10 Queer Horror Films!
He explains that his goal, “…was to recommend queer horror movies that were directly about queer characters. I steered clear of movies that were “coded” or “homoerotic” so that I could shine a light on movies about actual characters that were openly “out.” So, I stayed away from Nightmare 2 and the like that usually get mentioned. I think, in that way, I provided a list that will be a fresh take.”
Varrati is part of Deathcember, an upcoming Xmas horror anthology that features 24 short films from directors around the world, all linked by short, animated segments related to an advent calendar. Directors on the project include B.J. Colangelo and Zach Shildwachter, Pollyanna McIntosh, Ama Lea, Trent Haaga, Isaac Ezban, Sam Wineman, Sang-woo Lee, and many more. Stars of the film include Barbara Crampton, Tiffany Shepis, AJ Bowen, Barbara Magnolfi, Richard Glover, Clarke Wolfe, and more.
Varrati’s short is titled “All Sales Fatal”, and it’s about what happens when things at a gift exchange counter take a violent turn. It stars Tiffany Shepis, Jeffrey Reddick, and Ryan Fisher.
“A collection of 24 films that take a look at the dark side of the festive season. 24 international directors with the most diverse ideas and styles; linked by short animated segments that deal with the Advent calendar itself.“
Head on below for Varrati’s Top 10 Queer Horror Films!
10. Bit (dir. Brad Michael Elmore, 2019)
From Anne Rice to The Hunger and beyond, there’s a long history of vampires tackling queer issues and identity…and Bit honors that tradition by blowing down the doors and asserting itself as something powerful and wholly new. The most recent film on this list, Bit follows a young transwoman who gets brought into an undead coven that is committed to making sure men no longer wield vampiric powers. In a genre that admittedly has not always handled trans issues well, Bit is an intersectional feminist story that packs an allegorical wallop. Even more, it’s really, really fun.
9. Hellbent (dir. Paul Etheredge, 2004)
Billed as the “first gay slasher” upon its release, Paul Etheredge’s Hellbent has more than earned its place in the pantheon of queer horror. The story about a group of gay guys being stalked by a masked killer on Halloween doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel, but that’s also why it’s so effective. In a landscape where gay characters were often swept aside or omitted entirely, we finally got to be the heroes, the villain, and, yes, “the final girl.” Plus, it doesn’t hurt that everyone is gorgeous…and that this flick has one of the best moments of “eyeball” horror committed to screen. A definite classic.
8. What Keeps You Alive (dir. Colin Minihan, 2018)
When a woman travels to a remote cabin with her new wife, she learns that sometimes even the people closest to us can remain a mystery. Forced into a deadly game of cat and mouse with the person she loves, What Keeps You Alive is a stunning and gore-soaked tale of secrets and survival. A nail-biter in the Hitchcockian sense (with ample amounts of bloodshed), this film succeeds because it doesn’t linger, as so many films within the subgenre do, on the queerness of the characters, but rather on the notion that all relationships can have fractures…and the devasting realities of what that means. Uncompromising, heartbreaking, and savage…audiences would do well to discover this one.
7. Psycho Beach Party (dir. Robert Lee King, 2000)
Based on the stage play of the same name by drag legend Charles Busch, Psycho Beach Party is a delightful and satirical mash-up of drive-in horror and the beach movies of yesteryear. Even as a crazed killer stalks the beaches, a winsome clique of teens navigate young love, budding sexuality, and learning to surf…all while trying to survive. With a star-studded cast including Amy Adams, Lauren Ambrose, Matt Keeslar, and more, Psycho Beach Party captures a loving camp spirit that makes it perfect midnight movie fare, and Busch’s performance is an exercise in drag excellence that could teach some of the Drag Race generation a thing or two.
6. Rift (dir. Erlingur Thoroddsen, 2017)
Deeply atmospheric and contemplative, this elegantly executed Icelandic horror film dares to ask one of the most shocking questions of all: “What do you do when you’re haunted by the ghost of a dead relationship?” Telling the story of a man who travels to a remote location when he receives a distressing call from his ex-boyfriend, Rift unfurls horrors both otherworldly…and deeply, painfully human. Forcing us to confront the echoes of our past, Rift is a masterclass in thoughtful horror. I continue to be astounded by this movie, and discover new points to ponder with every viewing.
5. Shopping for Fangs (dir. Quentin Lee & Justin Lin, 1997)
More horror adjacent than an outright fright fest, Shopping for Fangs emerged in the post-Pulp Fiction landscape of indie cinema where stylistic stories about the interwoven lives of seemingly unconnected individuals was all the rage. Fangs is particularly unique in that it deals not only matters of sexuality, but the hyper-reality of our day-to-day lives. From a man who’s convinced he’s becoming a werewolf to a woman with identity issues who’s receiving lusty phone calls from a mysterious lesbian, this magnificent ensemble piece, led primarily by an Asian-American cast, is a foray into the cultural landscape of becoming our truest selves.
4. Knife + Heart (dir. Yann Gonzalez, 2018)
Playing as if Dario Argento had directed Cruising, Yann Gonzalez’s phantasmagorical Knife + Heart evokes a certain era of cinema, even as it delivers a startling new vision. A giallo set against the world of gay porn, one of this movie’s greatest achievements…beyond its terrifying masked killer, of course…is that Gonzalez has somehow curated a completely queer world for the characters to inhabit, a world in which queerness is the norm. Uniquely beautiful and elegantly savage, Knife + Heart feels like a ferocious announcement for a new era of queer horror to come. This is the kind of movie for which we’ve been waiting.
3. Jamie Marks is Dead (dir. Carter Smith, 2014)
Having already tread into the tortured psyche of a queer teen just wanting to belong with his celebrated short film Bugcrush, director Carter Smith takes those themes and kicks them up a notch with the masterful Jamie Marks is Dead. As much an elegy on death and dying as it is a ghost story, Jamie Marks deals with the difficult issue of bullying and what happens when the cruelty of the world makes us feel invisible. Not always an easy watch, this movie is nonetheless a statement on how we treat one another and the devastating power of simply wanting to belong. A haunting of a decidedly sad kind, I can’t recommend this movie enough…just make sure you have tissues within reach.
2. The Vampire Lovers (dir. Roy Ward Baker, 1970)
Over the years, there have been many adaptations of Carmilla, Sheridan Le Fanu’s tale of Sapphic vampirism, but the cultural impact of Hammer’s version starring the mighty Ingrid Pitt cannot be denied. Though the legendary studio had long flirted with sexuality in their oeuvre, for a brand with as much clout as Hammer to engage with this material so openly at the height of their output speaks to their fundamental understanding of horror’s power for social commentary. Likely tame by today’s standards, to see an ingenue like Pitt elegantly and openly seducing maidens (all the while going to battle with Peter Cushing) is a delicious slice of horror “herstory” and a must watch for your vampire education.
1. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (dir. Jim Sharman, 1975)
When it comes to the communal power of cult cinema, there’s still nothing quite like The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Featuring openly queer characters living unapologetically in an era of film when most wouldn’t even dare put such things on the screen, Rocky Horror became a beacon in the night for anyone across the land, LGBTQIA+ or otherwise, to gather together and celebrate their truest selves. For many, the film’s edict of “Don’t Dream it…BE IT” became a rallying cry, a mission issued by a midnight movie for us all to live the lives we’d always wanted. Rocky Horror’s legacy endures nearly 50 years on because it simply asked its audience to “Be YOU.” And that, to me, is what Pride is all about.
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