'Queer for Fear': From Dracula to Norman Bates, new docuseries brings horror out of the closet

Dracula, Psycho, Nosferatu and Rocky Horror are among the films discussed in the new Shudder docuseries Queer for FEar.

Trying to explain why queer people love horror opens a haunted puzzle box of theories about otherness, sexual deviancy, subtext and camp, which is probably why it’s usually just accepted as gay gospel. But a new documentary series from the streaming service Shudder, “Queer for Fear,” sets the ambitious task of looking into the history of that unholy union, through conversations with creators, actors and personalities who have contributed to the genre’s recent body of work. 

Among the talking heads, who float eerily in the foreground of the darkly lit interviews, are the creatives behind spooky films and series like “Sherlock,” “Russian Doll,” “Jennifer’s Body” and “The Craft”; the stars of “Child’s Play,” “What We Do in the Shadows” and “Yellowjackets”; and personalities like Michael Feinstein and the Mistress of the Dark herself, Elvira. Across the four episodes — which collectively comprise Shudder’s unofficial sequel to its 2019 documentary “Horror Noire,” about the history of Black horror  — the LGBTQ entertainment experts chart the evolution of horror from 19th century literary works about monstrous intellectuals to the unsettling thrillers of Hays Code Hollywood.

“I’ve been watching horror for a queer perspective my entire life, starting with monster serials and ‘The Munsters,’ when it was family-friendly fair,” said Bryan Fuller, an executive producer of the docuseries and the creator of “Hannibal” and “Pushing Daisies.” “To have conversations with folks who have similar awarenesses but different interpretations has been really exciting, because we all have our own introduction to queer horror, whether it’s ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ ‘The Munsters,’ ‘Bewitched’ or any of those other gateway movies or stories. 

“It’s fascinating how people seek queerness — and where they seek queerness,” Fuller added.

Tim Curry in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."United Archives via Getty Images“Queer for Fear” begins its look at the history of queer people’s relationship with horror — and adjacent genres like thriller and sci-fi — well before Fuller’s beloved 1960s sitcoms, with an in-depth review of the lives of late 19th century writers and reputed queers Mary Shelley, Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker. With the help of personal correspondence and other archival materials, the series’ commentators relate how Shelley’s “Frankenstein” was influenced by her polyamorous, sexually fluid relationships and how Wilde, after having penned “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” eventually became a martyr of Britain’s anti-gay penal code. They also detail how Stoker’s “Dracula” was a product of his uneasy relationship with his queerness, which eventually led him to become a vocal opponent of homosexuality. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-pop-culture/queer-fear-dracula-norman-bates-new-docuseries-brings-horror-closet-rcna49871


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