Considering the substantial overlap between horror fandom and the LGBTQ community, it’s about time someone scared up a deep-dive documentary on the genre’s queer appeal.
Enter: Queer For Fear, Shudder’s upcoming 4-part docuseries that exhumes horror history to answer why queer creators and fans have long been compelled by scary stories, ghosts, ghouls, goblins, and everything in between.
Whether it’s through the “monster as metaphor” or more overt explorations of gender and sexuality, Queer For Fear explores the genre as a frequent vessel for LGBTQ narratives.
Related: From sexy to scary: The Queerty must-see Halloween screening list
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According to the official synopsis, the series will look back through time, “from [horror’s] literary origins with queer authors Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, and Oscar Wilde to the pansy craze of the 1920s that influenced Universal Monsters and Hitchcock; from the ‘lavender scare’ alien invasion films of the mid-20th century to the AIDS obsessed bloodletting of 80s vampire films; through genre-bending horrors from a new generation of queer creators.”
Queer For Fear comes from producers Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Pushing Daisies) and Steak House (Disney’s Launchpad) and will feature a rogue’s gallery of experts providing commentary, including Jennifer Tilly (Bride Of Chucky), Lea DeLaria (Orange Is The New Black), Mark Gatiss (Sherlock), Karyn Kusama (Jennifer’s Body), Renée “Nay” Bever (Attack of The Queerwolf), Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry), Leslye Headland (Russian Doll), and director Oz Perkins—son of Anthony Perkins.
Speaking of Anthony Perkins, the late and long-closeted star is the focus of an early Queer For Fear preview that premiered this past weekend at San Diego Comic-Con. The clip delves into the queer subtext of Alfred Hitchcock’s timeless classic, Psycho, and how the character Norman Bates subverted the notion of the “Hollywood leading man” in more ways than one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He8x4X6xIS4
It’s a really thoughtful examination of both the movie and the actor’s allure, especially from Oz Perkins, who speaks frankly about his father’s queerness and how Psycho allowed him to give the best, most surprising performance of his legendary career—to his own detriment.
“The narrative in my house was Psycho had been too right for my dad,” shares Perkins, “and, therefore, was the end of him as an actor, really. It was like his coming out and his funeral at the same time.”
This is just a fascinating sample of what’s to come in Queer For Fear, which is set to debut on Shudder on Thursday, September 29—just before the start of “spooky season” (a.k.a. October).
Check out the series’ colorful promotional poster below, featuring Drag Race‘s Alaska in full Carrie-at-prom drag:
thebaddestbabby
Bit of a reach to say that the Norma/n-Bates-stabbing-Marion-Crane-in-the-shower scene in Psycho was (kind of) the original trans bathroom panic. Is the movie even about the category of trans or the trans experience? I get that it’s savvy marketing tho.
DBMC
I think, in movies, a picture is worth a thousand words. As soon as the audience saw him in women’s clothing, he becomes, at the time a sexual degenerate, now trans. The same with Silence of the Lambs, it doesn’t matter that the script says Buffalo Bill is not trans, the audience reads the character as trans.
Essie
I’ve never seen “Psycho”? Not the entire movie. Just watching the promos for this movie made me sick. I’ve never understood why people love it so much. However, the clip above was very interesting. Don’t think I’ll watch the doc on Shudder but this clip was interesting.
MISTERJETT
maybe if you watch the movie instead of judging it based on the promos, you’ll know why people love it.
Kangol2
Also stuck in moderation, perhaps because I spelled out the director’s name–come on. Queerty, this is a bit ridiculous but:
It’s one of Hitchc0ck’s greatest films, and a landmark in cinema. You really should watch it, not only for that famous shower scene, but also just to witness how Hitchc0ck subverts film viewers’ expectations more than once. I won’t give away the plot but let’s just say that it starts out as one sort of film and becomes another, and as has been noted by many film critics and people who saw it for the first time, they were a bit shocked. So please, do watch the entire film. It’s definitely worth it.
Rambeaux
Watch it. it is worth your time.
Because of the era in which it was produced, you will see very little blood, compared to slasher films standards of today.
Perkin’s acting was excellent. In fact the whole cast turned in great performances.
It is a compelling murder mystery. The ending is icing on the cake.
humble charlie
Anthony Perkins always seemed a little uncomfortably “off”, so the “Psycho” role was perfect for him. He always seemed like ants/worms were squirming under his clothes.
monty clift
Could have done without the bizarre trans victimization tacked onto it. If it’s going to be all about that I’ll probably give it a miss.
Kangol2
Not sure why this comment was stuck in moderation but:
Before I had ever watched Psych0 I’d heard about it but even having it seen it about 10 times now it is still a stunning film. Hitchc0ck should have received a major award for it (and so many of his other great films, like Vertigo, North by Northwest, Notorious, Spellbound, and Rear Window, to name a few), as should Perkins, who is superb in the role. More than once he gives a look that is so creepy it gets under your skin and stays there.