Queer For Fear, The Story of LGBTQIA+ Horror On Shudder
Love these short docu-type series Shudder has been dropping on the horror streaming platform. From 101 Scariest Horror Moments of All Time, Cursed Films, History of Horror, and my personal favorite the Found Footage Phenomenon. Shudder, the horror connoisseur streamer has released a series of four episodes titled Queer for Fear.
Episode 1 begins with the roots of Queer literary origins. Name-dropping the greatest scary movies inspired by Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, and Oscar Wilde. The series opens with some beautifully astute sentiment about how thematically, there are plenty of horror films that resonate especially with LGBTQIA+ but also with anyone who doesn’t fit into the mainstream normality.
Queer for Fear is a 4-episode series with the same format as other documentaries honing in on all things horror. It includes interviews with:
LGBTQ Culture Hit List
- Series showrunner Renée “Nay” Bever (“Attack of the Queerwolf” Podcast co-host),
- Mark Gatiss (Co-Creator, Writer & Actor, of Sherlock and Dracula on BBC),
- Kimberly Peirce (Writer and Director, Boys Don’t Cry, Carrie (2013),
- Lea DeLaria (Actor, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (2000), Orange is the New Black),
- Jennifer Tilly (Actor, Child’s Play franchise), Karyn Kusama (Director, Jennifer’s Body, Yellowjackets),
- Leslye Headland (Creator, of Russian Doll), Oz Perkins (Writer & Director, Gretel & Hansel), and more.
Dissect your favorite classic films like Dracula, Frankenstein, and Dorian Grey. The commentary is insightful and caters to all audience types.
Episode 101 Queer for Fear Documentary Series
Queer director, F.W. Murnau caused the world to rethink what the monsters in our favorite movies might really be about. hideous creatures that hide away and are seemingly different from what we expect people to be. Murnau was said to have coded his films with his gloriously phallic queerness. Nosferatu and Dracula form part of the crescendo of the horror bandwagon that begins to form based on queer directors releasing their legendary adaptations.
LGBTQ Movies 2022 Watch Episodes From Friday 30th September On Shudder
Did you know the original print of Nosferatu was almost destroyed? Find out more on Shudder.
LGBTQ Rights To Make A Movie, Queer for Fear
Episode 102
James Whale released the classics Frankenstein, The Old Dark House, The Invisible Man, and The Bride of Frankenstein for Universal as a gay director. Whales’ success wasn’t free of its own troubles as anti-gay sentiment reared its ugly head. Alfred Hitchcock famously used Anthony Perkins as the lead in his cult smash hit Psycho. At the time, Perkins was still in the closet but absolutely 100% queer.
Episode 103
Centering back toward monsters, werewolves, aliens, and other body-horror-themed films are widely known to be subject to queer metaphors. The Wolf Man and Cat People, both films released in the 1940s show creatures and monsters who hide away in shame. They search for cures for their differences and their secrets and are often killed off in the end or exiled somewhere far away. Alongside Aliens and body-snatchers, episode 3 takes us through author Kevin McCarthy’s obsession-fueled stories about bucking against conformity.
Episode 104
Bisexual femme fatale vampires have been terrorizing audiences for eons. Sheridan La Fanu’s antihero, Carmilla is said to be the original lesbian vampire. Then there is The Hunger which starred an iconic cast like Susan Sarandon and David Bowie. Predatory women from the 1990s make powerful characters over the decades. In 1996, Bound starring Jennifer Tilly released to outraged critics who wanted it banned. This made the movie all the more sought after.
